NYPD Union Boss Calls For Parole Board Scalps

The head of the city’s largest police union is holding Governor Andrew Cuomo responsible after a parole board decided to let a convicted cop-killer go free.

The parolee is 70-year-old Herman Bell, who was a member of a black radical group when he and two other men assassinated NYPD officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones in 1971.

Herman Bell, a former member of a black radical group, was convicted with two other men for the 1971 assassination of NYPD Officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones.

(New York state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision )

The parole board panel cited Bell's remorse, age and good behavior during his four decades behind bars. Jones’ family also supported Bell’s parole. He could be released as early as April 17.

But Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch held a press conference with Piagentini's widow Thursday and called Cuomo to account.

“This parole board needs to be fired. They need to be gone. They lost their goddamn humanity,” Lynch said.

Piagentini’s widow, Diane Piagentini, described how her husband was shot 22 times as he begged for his life.

“We have spent a lifetime without him," she said, holding back years. "I have two grandchildren that will never know him, four and six. What am I going to tell them when they eventually ask, ‘What happened grandma?’ ” 

In addition to calling on Cuomo to fire the two board members who voted for parole, Lynch said the union is also trying to figure out if there's any way to reverse the decision.

A spokesman for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Thomas Mailey, said only the courts can overturn a board decision. He also said that board members can’t be fired because someone disagrees with a decision. Instead, " 'Just cause' must be demonstrated and a hearing process must be completed,” Mailey said.

The Governor's office did not respond to a request for comment.