Officer Suspended for Failing to Help Woman Who Froze

A police officer has been suspended without pay for failing to help a homeless woman who was dying from exposure to the cold in December, police said Friday.

Officer Raymond Ruczynski, 43, a 19-year veteran of the police force, was suspended this week for 10 days on the recommendation of the Police Board of Inquiry, police Capt. Richard DeLise said.

Nearly an hour after the officer reported to police headquarters on Dec. 16 that the woman was drunk and had refused assistance, Mary Dennis, 59, was found frozen to death on a bench at a city bus stop.

Police Commissioner Willie Williams said Ruczynski should have taken the woman to a hospital and consulted his supervisors. The Fraternal Order of Police was expected to appeal the suspension.