WEATHER ALERT
Lawrence Byrne, NYPD's policy-shaping legal czar, dies at 61
Read full article: Lawrence Byrne, NYPD's policy-shaping legal czar, dies at 61Byrne, whose brother was a rookie NYPD officer when he was shot and killed in 1988, died Sunday at a Manhattan hospital after a heart attack Thursday, the police department said. Byrne defended the department in litigation over its spying on Muslims, which was uncovered in reporting by The Associated Press. He interpreted a state secrecy law in a way that shielded the disciplinary records of officers accused of brutality from public view. Bush carried his badge with him while running for the White House, and a major Justice Department grant program is named in his honor. Over the years, Lawrence Byrne and his family have testified before the state parole board, urging it not to release the men who killed his brother.