Deputy chief says he's not intimidated by noose

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Two days after a hangman's noose was found in the Hempstead Police locker room, Deputy Chief Willie Dixon vowed yesterday not to be intimidated.

"If anybody thinks this kind of cowardly act will keep me from doing my job as effectively as possible, they're badly mistaken," Dixon said in an interview.

Nonetheless, he called the incident deeply hurtful.

"It's the ultimate symbol of disgust if you know American history, especially if you're black. It's a great insult," said Dixon, 57, who is black and has been with the department since 1981.

"There's no difference between a noose and a swastika, except who they're aimed at," he said.

The noose was found hanging from a pipe and old newspaper stories about criminal charges Dixon faced in the early 1990s were found posted nearby, according to village sources who did not want to be named.

Dixon is the third-highest ranking officer on the 107-member force. His promotion in May made him chief of patrol and supervisor of department civilians, and may be behind the incident, according to the sources.

Dixon, who declined to discuss specifics of the incident, did say that he has previously heard that some officers were angry with him because of changes he made in some squads.

"In trying to increase efficiency and save on overtime, I made some changes," said Dixon. "Nobody was placed on a different shift, but some people ended up working with different officers. One comment was that I was wrecking families, and I don't understand that."

Corey Pegues, a New York Police Department captain who lives in Hempstead and is the president of the Long Island chapter of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, said issues related to race need to be explored.

"Some officers think they should not have to take orders from a black person," Pegues said. "And if that's the case here, we need to get to the bottom of it quickly before this becomes the norm."

Dixon said he is confident the district attorney and Chief Joe Wing, his longtime colleague, will thoroughly investigate the incident.

Hempstead Trustee Perry Pettus said he works closely with the police and doesn't know anybody who would commit such an act. "But somebody with access did this and has left a smudge on the village and its police department," he said.

Only police and janitors have authorized access to the locker room.

A janitor discovered the artifacts and reported it to Dixon.

The stories posted were about charges against Dixon for dragging a local woman with his car. A jury acquitted him of all charges in 1993.