That's taking it to heart

The New York Times has a story by Christine Hauser about the outcome of that ugly taser incident awhile back:

A New York City police lieutenant who gave the order to fire a taser stun gun at a man who then fell to his death in Brooklyn committed suicide at Floyd Bennett Field early on Thursday, law enforcement sources said. The lieutenant, Michael Pigott, a 21-year veteran of the force, had been placed on modified assignment without his gun and badge after he gave the order to a sergeant to fire the Taser at a Bedford-Stuyvesant man, Iman Morales.
Mr. Morales, naked and with apparent signs of emotionally disturbance, fell to his death from a building ledge after an officer shot him with the taser, at the instruction of Lieutenant Pigott. Mr. Morales had been yelling at passers-by and swinging a long light bulb tube at officers before he fell.
The department announced that the use of the taser appeared to violate departmental rules, and a new commander of the Emergency Service Unit was named. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly also emphasized the need for additional training.
Asked about the development on Thursday morning, the chief spokesman for the police department, Paul J. Browne, said only: “A New York City police lieutenant was killed this morning apparently as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” he said. “The identification is being withheld pending family notification.” Mr. Browne declined to comment further.
It was not immediately clear where the weapon used for the suicide came from. Lieutenant Pigott was assigned to modified duty, which meant that his service weapon was taken from him, and he was also not assigned to the training that was taking place at Floyd Bennett Field, which Mr. Kelly had ordered after the taser death last week.

Rico says a New York cop who had another gun besides his service weapon? What a surprise... (Sarcasm definitely intended.)

Rico also says, prompted by Anonymous, that this, too, is a tragedy, and he hopes his instinctive sarcasm wasn't too harsh. (And the second gun was apparently stolen from another officer's locker.) The New York Times has an extensive article on the how and why of Lieutenant Pigott's death, and should be read by all:

The lieutenant may have believed that he might face charges in an inquiry and did not want to bring disgrace upon his family.