17 NYC officers disciplined in fatal car crash

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Seventeen police officers will be disciplined in the wake of an investigation into the deaths of a pregnant woman, her young son and sister who were allegedly run over by an intoxicated off-duty officer leaving a topless bar Saturday.

Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik ordered the suspensions Wednesday of five officers and the transfers of five others from the city's 72nd Precinct, including the precinct's commanding officer, executive officer and integrity control officer. Seven others who were allegedly drinking in a precinct parking lot around the time of the deadly incident have been placed on modified duty, he said.

Four of the five suspended officers were disciplined for drinking in the Wild Wild West, the topless bar where Officer Joseph Gray had also allegedly been drinking before the incident. The bar was supposed to be off-limits to officers from the 72nd Precinct, Kerik said. The fifth suspended officer, a supervising sergeant, was allegedly among the group drinking in the parking lot.

New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said the disciplinary action should "send a very clear message that drinking and being a police officer is a very dangerous combination."

"Police officers on duty, or traveling back and forth to work, or traveling anywhere, shouldn't be drinking and getting behind the wheel of a car, and they shouldn't be drinking because they have a gun with them," said Giuliani, who announced the suspensions and transfers at a news conference with Kerik on Wednesday evening.

The three top officials of the precinct being transferred were not cited for alcohol-related conduct. But Kerik said that given the number of officers involved, he had questions about the precinct's leadership.

"If they feel freely that they can sit in a parking lot, consume alcohol and go to an off-limits location in that precinct, I just have to question the commanding officer's ability to control his people," Kerik said.

Maria Herrera, her 4-year-old son, Andy, and her sister, Dilcia Pena, were run over while crossing a street in the Sunset Park area of Brooklyn. Herrera's unborn baby was delivered in an emergency procedure after the accident but later died.

Police say blood tests show Gray was drunk when his van struck the family. He was charged with multiple crimes in connection with the accident, including vehicular homicide.

In a move that infuriated the families of the victims and many New Yorkers, Gray was released without bail Sunday after his arraignment.

"We want him to pay for what our family is going through, for all of the pain we are going through," said Kathy Pena, the victims' cousin. "A police officer is supposed to serve us, he is supposed to protect us. How is he going to protect us when he's drunk?"

Giuliani said other police officers were cooperative in the investigation and that there's been "no blue wall of silence." He also said Gray has not received any special treatment.

Here is the breakdown of the actions taken against the officers:

-- The five officers transferred included the commanding officer, executive officer and integrity control officer, along with two sergeants who supervised the precinct's day shift, when alcohol-related violations occurred.

-- The five officers suspended included two sergeants, who both allegedly consumed alcohol in the parking lot and one of whom visited the Wild Wild West; and three officers who were allegedly drinking at the topless bar.

-- The seven officers put on modified duty were cited for drinking in the parking lot.

In addition, Gray's suspension, imposed after the incident, will continue, Kerik said.