whats wrong with this woman?
nypost
A judge who wants to unmask undercover cops in open court - possibly putting their lives in peril - doesn't want the public to see her face.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Cropper - wearing a large floppy hat and sunglasses - hid from a Post photographer on her way to lunch yesterday, and later asked to be escorted by a quartet of beefy court officers when the photographer caught up with her again.
It's "obvious" that Judge Cropper is "afraid of drug dealers and needs protection just to go for lunch a few blocks from the courthouse," said Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.
Cropper has come under fire for ordering three undercover cops to reveal their identities in a routine drug-bust case. She wants them to testify by name in open court against a homeless man they arrested for selling $10 bags of cocaine.
Judges usually allow undercover cops to testify in a court cleared of spectators - but Cropper wants them on the stand for the world to see.
The cops in the case - some of whom are involved in bigger undercover stings - refused to testify in a pretrial hearing last week, fearing for their safety.
That prompted Cropper to bar all testimony and evidence concerning the undercover buys - basically ensuring the prosecution loses the case.
Cops and their unions claim Cropper's ruling could be a death sentence for undercovers - and even their families - and the move could scuttle scores of investigations.
"It's a ridiculous decision that puts both police officers and their families at risk, and also every citizen of the city," Lynch said. "It gives the drug dealers a foot up at a time when police are trying to shackle those feet."
Cropper, a 19-year veteran of the bench, reacted angrily when she found herself in the spotlight yesterday.
When she went to lunch, she left the courthouse at 100 Centre St. via the side, district attorney's entrance on Hogan Place, escorted by a court officer. But when a Post photographer started shooting, the Mario Cuomo appointee bolted back into the court.
Cropper then exited the building from the main door and walked to Forlini's restaurant, a popular hangout with courtroom denizens.
When she realized photographers were waiting for her outside the restaurant, she called in the cavalry - four court officers to escort her back after her 45-minute meal.
As a photographer took her picture, Cropper, waving her cane, said, "Stop bothering me."
"Just get out of my way," she continued.
One court source who knows Cropper blasted the judge for trying to shield her identity.
"It was pretty hypocritical," the source said.
A call to Cropper's chambers was not returned at press time.
David Bookstaver, a spokesman for the Court of Administration, said last night that Cropper, "has every right to avoid having her picture taken. However, press photographers have a right to take pictures on a public street."
nypost
A judge who wants to unmask undercover cops in open court - possibly putting their lives in peril - doesn't want the public to see her face.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Cropper - wearing a large floppy hat and sunglasses - hid from a Post photographer on her way to lunch yesterday, and later asked to be escorted by a quartet of beefy court officers when the photographer caught up with her again.
It's "obvious" that Judge Cropper is "afraid of drug dealers and needs protection just to go for lunch a few blocks from the courthouse," said Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.
Cropper has come under fire for ordering three undercover cops to reveal their identities in a routine drug-bust case. She wants them to testify by name in open court against a homeless man they arrested for selling $10 bags of cocaine.
Judges usually allow undercover cops to testify in a court cleared of spectators - but Cropper wants them on the stand for the world to see.
The cops in the case - some of whom are involved in bigger undercover stings - refused to testify in a pretrial hearing last week, fearing for their safety.
That prompted Cropper to bar all testimony and evidence concerning the undercover buys - basically ensuring the prosecution loses the case.
Cops and their unions claim Cropper's ruling could be a death sentence for undercovers - and even their families - and the move could scuttle scores of investigations.
"It's a ridiculous decision that puts both police officers and their families at risk, and also every citizen of the city," Lynch said. "It gives the drug dealers a foot up at a time when police are trying to shackle those feet."
Cropper, a 19-year veteran of the bench, reacted angrily when she found herself in the spotlight yesterday.
When she went to lunch, she left the courthouse at 100 Centre St. via the side, district attorney's entrance on Hogan Place, escorted by a court officer. But when a Post photographer started shooting, the Mario Cuomo appointee bolted back into the court.
Cropper then exited the building from the main door and walked to Forlini's restaurant, a popular hangout with courtroom denizens.
When she realized photographers were waiting for her outside the restaurant, she called in the cavalry - four court officers to escort her back after her 45-minute meal.
As a photographer took her picture, Cropper, waving her cane, said, "Stop bothering me."
"Just get out of my way," she continued.
One court source who knows Cropper blasted the judge for trying to shield her identity.
"It was pretty hypocritical," the source said.
A call to Cropper's chambers was not returned at press time.
David Bookstaver, a spokesman for the Court of Administration, said last night that Cropper, "has every right to avoid having her picture taken. However, press photographers have a right to take pictures on a public street."
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