Report.final

REPORT OF INVESTIGATIONINTO THE RESPONSE BY THENEW YORK STATE POLICE ANDOTHERS TO A DOMESTIC INCIDENTINVOLVING DAVID W. JOHNSON,AN AIDE TO THE GOVERNOR

JUDITH S. KAYEINDEPENDENT COUNSELTO THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERALOF THE STATE OF NEW YORKJuly 28, 2010

i

TABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION

.............................................................................................................1

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

..............................................................................................2

LEGAL AUTHORITY

.....................................................................................................3

FACTUAL FINDINGS

.....................................................................................................6

I.

OCTOBER

31,

2009

DOMESTIC

INCIDENT

........................................................6

A. Booker’s Report of a Domestic Incident to the NYPD on theEvening of October 31, 2009..................................................................................6

B. Call from Major Charles Day of the State Police to Booker...................................7

C. The NYPD’s Delayed Response..............................................................................9

D. Johnson’s Request that Deneane Brown Go to Booker’s Apartmenton October 31........................................................................................................11

E. Harris’s Contact with Brown After Speaking with Johnson.................................12

F. Governor Paterson’s Conversation with Harris on October 31.............................13

II.

BOOKER’S

PURSUIT

OF

AN

ORDER

OF

PROTECTION

.............................14

A. Bronx County Family Court..................................................................................14

B. NYPD Domestic Violence Officers’ Home Visits................................................17

III.

FURTHER

STATE

POLICE

INVOLVEMENT

................................................17

A. Day’s Efforts to Determine Whether Johnson was Subject to Arrestor Service of Process.............................................................................................17

B. Superintendent Corbitt Informs Secretary Denise O’Donnell...............................20

C. Johnson’s Attempt to Obtain a Pistol Permit Through the State Police................22

D. Day’s Testimony in this Investigation...................................................................22

E. Resignations of Corbitt and Perez.........................................................................23

IV.

EXECUTIVE

CHAMBER

INVOLVEMENT

AFTER

THE

INCIDENT

........24

A. Harris’s Efforts Through Brown to Dissuade Booker fromProceeding Against Johnson.................................................................................24

B. Johnson Speaks to Governor Paterson on November 1, 2009...............................25

C. Brown Meets with Governor Paterson in January 2010........................................26D. Escalating Rumors of Personal Scandal................................................................27

E. Governor Paterson’s Conversation with Booker on February 7, 2010..................30

F. Governor Paterson’s February 9, 2010 Interview with a Times Reporter.............32

G. Governor Paterson Seeks a Press Statement from Booker....................................33

H. Resignations of Kauffmann and Shorenstein........................................................39

I. Governor Paterson’s Communications with Booker After Referringthe Matter to the OAG............................................................................................39