NYPD officer disciplined for harassing 311 caller with voicemails of heavy breathing, dolphin sounds

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – An NYPD officer who retaliated against a prolific 311 caller—including by leaving phones messages of heavy breathing and dolphin sounds—has been fined and disciplined.

A Conflicts of Interest Board ruling released Tuesday will result in Officer Brendan Sullivan, of the 77th Precinct, paying a $500 fine and giving up 60 days of leave, amounting to a loss of about $25,000 pay. He’s also been placed on modified duty.

The six messages were uncovered as the Department of Investigation looked into reports of police retaliation against 311 callers concerned about illegal parking by members of the NYPD.

Sullivan admitted to using his department-issued phone to leave harassing and at times creepy voicemails for a Prospect Heights man, Paul Vogel, who’d called the 311 hotline hundreds of times to report the illegal parking.

The board found the officer “sought to discourage a citizen from exercising his constitutional right to complain about government action.”

According to the board, Sullivan obtained Vogel’s number from the 311 calls, a violation of the City Charter.

In some of the calls he pretended to be an ex-lover, breathing heavily into the phone and sometimes referring to him as “Paulie.”

“Hi Paul, just calling to see how you’re doing,” he said in one message, according to audio obtained by Streetsblog . “I thought I saw you on Vanderbilt, but I guess not. I tried to wave you down. Just want to let you know that I miss you.”

He also left calls that included “dolphin, seal and sheep noises,” according to the board.

The Brooklyn D.A. previously investigated the case but found it didn’t amount to criminality, according to the New York Times .

The NYPD said in a statement, “The department is dedicated to ensuring pedestrian safety for all New Yorkers.”

An officer from the 84th Precinct in Brooklyn was also disciplined and fined $500 last year for a similar case in which he pretended to be a 311 operator and told a caller he'd be banned from using the service for lodging too many complaints about NYPD members parking on sidewalks.