(AP) BRENTWOOD, N.Y. - A stabbing victim's body was left in the gutter of a Long Island street for at least eight hours, sparking a disagreement between a union and police management over reduced staffing.
Suffolk County Police found the body of Edgar Villalobos, 28, after responding to a 12:45 a.m. call Monday. Police officials say an officer was at the scene within 10 minutes and a homicide supervisor arrived at 2:05 a.m. and began investigating.
But the county detectives union suggests the delay was partly related to a new policy that removed a homicide detective from an early morning standby shift. Union president Ray Griffin told Newsday it wasn't until about eight hours later that a detective from the department's identification section arrived to begin taking fingerprints.