In the N.Y.P.D., when police officers make an arrest, they make the perpetrator remove their shoelaces and belts. This is done so that perpetrators don't try to kill themselves.
Two hours later the 14th transit police detective squad Commander David Martinez finished interviewing Officer Dansky and the perpetrator.
A month after Dansky's big bank robbery arrest, the Police Commissioner William Segal promoted Dansky to third-grade detective and transferred to the 73rd precinct squad. As a third-grade detective, Dansky was home even less than before. All dinners prepared by Sandy went uneaten. All Broadway shows and concerts were missed. He was always busy with felony investigations. Not to mention testimonies before the grand jury and the court. He accepted the long hours and obligations that a third-grade detective had.
One night after an eighteen-hour tour, Dansky came home and went straight to bed without saying a word to Sandy. As Sandy slipped into bed to be with her husband she wanted to make love to him, but he said he was too tired. She grunted with annoyance and turned away, tugging at the blanket and tucking it over her. When they woke up the next morning the air was tense between them, neither of them looking at each other or saying a word. She was angry because she was always alone and her husband was always too tired to make love to her. They had their morning coffee and remained in bed reading the Sunday Daily News, each taking great care to stay on their side of the bed.
The awkward silence was broken by the occasional turning of a page. Finally, she said, "My friend Monica is doing her daughter's first Holy Communion at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Want to go?" she asked. She then started crying. "I love you," she said. "What's happening to us, Bill? We've become strangers. What is it about the job that you love so much more than me? Tell me; I want to try to understand."
"It's not the love for this job, it's the responsibility of being a detective," he said. "The department expects more of me than the other uniformed police officers. When you are a third-grade detective, you have to hump and grunt in the trenches and do a lot of hard work."
Dansky then tried his best to explain his dilemma to Sandy.
"Each tour, I go to work intending to catch up on my paperwork, but I can't. The criminal cases keep coming in. In my detective squad, each one of us catches an average of thirty-five cases a piece. The burglaries are filed faster than a speeding bullet, and then when a complainant starts calling in inquiring if the case has been solved, you can tell them we have a detective working on the case. But a homicide, a bank robbery, a rape, or a shooting is different. Criminals are walking the streets and I don't have time to go out and arrest them all. It's like shoveling shit against the tide. It's unending."
Dismayed, she grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "But you love it, don't you!"
He acknowledged her accusation with a nod. She threw herself into his arms. "Leave the job and go to engineering school. Be a mechanic. Drive a cab. Do any other profession so we can live a normal life."
"I'm already locked into my pension. I can't quit."
"Promise me you will try to work fewer hours, and be home more often," she said, practically pleading with him.
"I will. I'll try," Dansky muttered begrudgingly.
On June 30, 1974, at 6 a.m. Dansky had car problems while on his way to work at the 73rd. Precinct. So, instead of driving to work, he had to take the subway and soon found himself underground on the downtown side waiting for the E train.
As he was waiting for the train to arrive, he ran into a male who just robbed the Chase bank wearing blue jeans, a black leather jacket, a black ski mask, and holding a gun to a black male undercover police officer's head. At the same time the officer's partner, a black female, had her gun drawn. The perpetrator shouted, "Drop your gun or I'll shoot your partner."
The female officer dropped her gun to the floor and then Dansky took cover behind a pillar toward the rear of the subway platform. As the perpetrator started to pick the gun up off the ground, Dansky shouted, "Police! Don't move. Drop the gun. Step away from both officers and put your hands up."
As Bill Dansky moved in on the perpetrator, both undercover police officers drew their off-duty second weapons from their ankle holsters. Both officers and Dansky shouted, "Don't move or I'll shoot. Get on your knees and wiggle your fingers.
Dansky then approached the man and rear-cuffed him. He showed both uncovered officers his detective's gold shield and picture ID.
"I am Detective Bill Dansky from the 73rd precinct. Are you officers okay? Do you want me to call an ambulance?"
"Yes for my partner," Officer Pam Johnson said. "But I am okay. Thank you for the backup; you saved our lives." The male undercover police officer couldn't even speak.
Detective Dansky called an ambulance as well as the sector sergeant and the duty captain. At 6:30 a.m. the ambulance, Sergeant Cox, and Captain Albright arrived at the scene and the captain assigned the collar to Detective Dansky.
Bill Dansky then called his 73rd precinct Detective Sergeant Timmy Murphy and Captain Rusty Brooks to notify them of his arrest. At 6:40 a.m. the ambulance and Sergeant Morris of the Queens Task Force went to Jamaica Hospital to take the traumatized undercover officer to the hospital. At 7 a.m. the Queens Task Force Sector Adam took Detective Dansky to the 113th precinct to process his arrest.
On June 30, 1975, Third Grade Detective Bill Dansky was promoted to Second Grade Detective in a ceremony at One Police Plaza. Police Commissioner William Segal and New York City Mayor Patrick Roberts were present.
Detective Dansky had a reputation for being the most decorated detective in the 73rd precinct during those days. He was well-liked and respected by everyone in the precinct. Dansky's workload soon became more overwhelming and intense. When a detective got promoted from third grade to second grade his caseload of homicides, burglaries, rapes, bank robberies, and abductions grew even larger.
Detective Dansky was soon reassigned to the 73rd precinct homicide squad. Dansky covered the Brooklyn section of Bushwick, Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brownsville, and East New York. These neighborhoods were the worst in New York City during the 1970s.
Bill Dansky made a name for himself and even moved to the same neighborhood as Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Dichochio. They both lived in Homestead, Long Island and they played softball together and went out to dinner from time to time.
Detective Dansky began to give classes on investigative homicides and robberies to various police departments around the country. As of June 30, 1976, he had made two hundred homicide arrests and a little more than one hundred robbery arrests. He won the Detective of the Year award. From July 29, 1976, to July 31, 1977, a serial killer caused terror all over the streets of New York City, killing couples making love with a .357 magnum. The Son of Samuel, Joshua Benjamin eluded a massive police manhunt while leaving brazen letters that promised further murders. Highly publicized in the press, the killings terrorized the citizens of New York City and achieved worldwide notoriety.
On August 10, 1977, Dansky was one of the detectives who helped arrest Joshua Benjamin.
When questioned by detectives, Benjamin confessed that he belonged to a Satanic cult and claimed that his neighbor's dog made him kill all those twenty people.
Fortunately, Dansky and his fellow officers followed proper procedure and Benjamin was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
For his efforts, Second Grade Detective Bill Dansky was promoted to First Grade Detective. He now had even more responsibilities that frequently kept him away from his wife.
One summer morning on one of his days off, Bill Dansky found his wife sitting dejectedly on their bed with suitcases at her side. He sat next to her as tears streamed down her face. He began to cry as well.
"Bill, I don't like what's happening to us. I can't live like this anymore. I'm leaving for my good."
"Please don't leave," Bill pleaded.
"I've made my decision," Sandy said and then tenderly kissed his cheek. "I've never been unfaithful to you," she said.
"Neither have I," Bill answered as she grabbed her suitcases and walked out the door. All he could do was sit, paralyzed with sadness, his head in his hands.
***
Dansky could clearly remember every detail of their last few moments together in that house. But the pain diminished as he poured more scotch. He then placed the framed photo back on his desk.