Send in the cavalry!
The NYPD has moved three elite Manhattan homicide detectives and a deputy chief to the raucous Occupy Wall Street protest in response to a rash of sex attacks, thefts and vandalism — including graffiti scrawled on the nearby 9/11 Memorial, The Post has learned.
The veteran detectives, normally assigned to Manhattan South, are now working cases at Zuccotti Park on an as-needed basis, law-enforcement sources said.
And NYPD brass assigned the Number 2 official in charge of the Organized Crime Control Bureau — Deputy Chief Kevin Ward — to work the troublesome 4 p.m.-to-midnight shift at the park, sources said.
Previously, high-ranking officials have worked daytime duty while lower-ranking officers manned the night shifts.
The moves are part of a larger effort to beef up security at the park, normally patrolled by 1st Precinct cops.
The seasoned homicide detectives were chosen because they are among the savviest and most experienced investigators on the job, the sources said.
Nearby merchants — who have complained of vandalism, theft and threats from the squatters — welcomed the increased police presence.
“It’s good for all of us,” said Stacey Tzortzatos, owner of Panini & Co. She says she has been threatened more than once, and had to shell out $3,000 to fix a restroom vandalized by protesters.
But some cops called the move a waste of manpower.
“Sending homicide detectives to investigate vandalism and lost-property cases is a little much,” chuckled one police official.
Another called it an overreaction, adding, “If you have graffiti on your mailbox, call up and see how long it’ll take to get a criminal-mischief report filed.”
The detectives, who began working cases at the park two weeks ago, are also investigating two acts of vandalism on the 9/11 Memorial.
In the first, a heart was etched near a name on the bronze memorial. Cops suspect the perpetrator may have been a family member of a victim.
And last week, a drawing of a skull was found on the memorial. Both marks were removed.
Also yesterday, Xavier Maslow-sky, 25, was charged with public lewdness for exposing himself in the park.
Last night, an unidentified man was hauled away in handcuffs. Numerous protest sources said he had punched a female protester. Cops had no details on the incident.
Additional reporting by Carl Campanile, Lonnie Nemiroffand Doug Auer