By Tom Tracy
The commanding officer of Park Slope’s 78th Precinct has moved on to tackle the streets of Flatbush. Officials announced last week that Deputy Inspector Thomas Harris was transferred out of Park Slope on January 20 when he was asked to take charge of the 70th Precinct, replacing retiring Inspector Robert Richard. His transfer comes almost five years to the day that he was assigned there as a newly promoted captain in 2001. Harris, a Brooklyn native, was an executive officer at the 70th Precinct for just over a year when he was promoted to the commanding officer slot at the 76th Precinct in Carroll Gardens. Following record-setting crime reductions – as well as a year without homicides – he was transferred to the 78th Precinct, officials said. Harris leaves the 78th Precinct after celebrating a 2.3 percent year-end drop in felony crime, with steep reductions in burglaries Joining Harris on his first tour of duty as commanding officer is Captain Michael Ricciardi, who also served Harris as executive officer in the 78th Precinct. Police have yet to officially announce a replacement for Harris, leaving the precinct in the capable hands of Captain Philip Romanzi, the precinct’s executive officer since October 2005.
