By Rocco Parascandola
Newsday
NEW YORK — Osvaldo Hernandez served his country in Afghanistan, but before that, he served time for gun possession, a conviction that bars him from becoming a police officer - unless the NYPD has a change of heart.
Perhaps as soon as today, Hernandez’s lawyer will file a motion in State Supreme Court in Queens seeking “relief from civil disabilities,” a document that allows felons to vote and is also supposed to allow them to obtain certain licenses and get certain jobs.
The NYPD has said a felony conviction is “an absolute bar” that would keep Hernandez, 26, from joining the nation’s largest police force.
Yesterday, however, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne, the NYPD’s top spokesman, said it wasn’t clear if the measure Hernandez is seeking would allow the department to hire him.
Hernandez has proved beyond any doubt that he has straightened out his act, said his lawyer, James Harmon, a former Manhattan assistant district attorney.
“He was a top-of-the-line soldier,” Harmon said. “His commanding officer backs him up. I was a prosecutor and an air ranger in Vietnam. I can appreciate what he did in Afghanistan. I appreciate what police officers do.
“This guy would make an excellent police officer.”
Hernandez ran afoul of the law in 2002 when plainclothes officers pulled over his Nissan in Richmond Hill, Queens, and found a .380 pistol under the driver’s seat.
Hernandez pleaded guilty to weapons possession and was sentenced to a year in jail. A year later, Hernandez, determined to turn his life around, was granted an enlistment waiver from the Army.
Hernandez, who held the rank of specialist, served in Afghanistan as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He was honorably discharged in June after a 15-month combat tour.
Hernandez, who is from Corona and still lives in Queens, could not be reached yesterday to comment, and Harmon said he didn’t want to make the aspiring police officer available while the case is in court.
He said Hernandez passed the NYPD physical exam, scored high on the written exam and wants to serve the city.
“He’s got the highest respect for police officers,” Harmon said.
Harmon was involved in the investigation into a 1972 Harlem mosque shooting, in which Officer Phil Cardillo was killed. Randy Jurgensen, a former officer who responded to the shooting and spent years investigating it, explored Hernandez’s background for Harmon.
“I truly believe, given what he has done, that he deserves a chance,” Jurgensen said.
Copyright 2008 Newsday