Associated Press
New York- The head of the New York Police Department has taken the unusual step of rebuking a judge for helping a man wanted in a robbery elude arrest in her courtroom.
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly called on the Office of Court Administration to punish Judge Laura Blackburne. Police unions said she should re sign.
Derek Sterling appeared before the judge Thursday on drug charges, when a detective arrived and said that he planned to arrest Sterling in the robbery case once the drug hearing was over.
Blackburne indicated she was upset because he had no arrest warrant. She also alleged that he tried to set a trap by claiming he was there only to question Sterling.
She ordered Sterling to return to a halfway house and directed a court officer to escort him out a rear door. Sterling was arrested 12 hours later.