Concerns about vertical patrols after police-involved shooting

NEW YORK (WABC) -- In the wake of an innocent man being shot and killed by a police officer conduction a vertical patrol, the tactic is coming under fire.

"You have sexual assaults, you have drug dealing, burglaries and robberies, the vertical patrols are designed to get officers within the buildings get up to the roof and go through the entire building," said Sal Lifrieri, a security expert.

They're called vertical patrols; an NYPD tactic of sweeping the city's most violent buildings, often rookie officers combing poorly lit stairwells.

Security expert Sal Lifrieri is a first grade detective who served 20 years with the NYPD and says it's a necessary tool.

"When you're doing a vertical patrol and you're walking into a dark alley and you're there, you understand that reason you're there is because there have been violent crimes committed. You may want to anticipate having your gun out," Lifrieri said.

The tactic is coming under scrutiny yet again, after the shooting death of an unarmed man by a rookie NYPD officer Thursday.

Donna Lieberman, the director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, says her office filed a class action lawsuit in 2012.

"The vertical patrol program during the Bloomberg administration was the source of numerous complaints by Housing Authority tenants. There was excessive Stop and Frisk, improper trespass arrests, and that has been the source of a lawsuit in federal court," Lieberman said.

The PBA said in a statement regarding this latest incident, "Dimly lit stairways and dilapidated conditions create fertile ground for violent crime while the constant presence of illegal firearms creates a dangerous and highly volatile environment. Only time and a thorough investigation will tell us what transpired in this case."

When asked about building maintenance, the New York City Housing Authority said in its statement, "Regarding the tragic shooting at Pink Houses, NYCHA is cooperating with the NYPD as the investigation proceeds."

"Nobody is saying that vertical patrols shouldn't exist. What we are saying is that vertical patrols need to serve the community and not present a danger to them," Lieberman said.