Retired NYPD officers say they are gathering re-enforcements to prevent their names and pension amounts from hitting the World Wide Web.

“There is really no reason for them to disclose our name. And I think all of the unions should get behind this and put an end to it,” said retired NYPD Sergeant Larry Williams.

The Empire Center for Public Policy in Albany says taxpayers have the right to know what retired officers are bringing home in pensions. Currently, there are 44,000 retired police officers. Those who retired in 2009 on average receive about $59,000 annually. The Empire Center says it wants to match names with pension amounts and put it on their website.

“Inherently, transparency makes people more accountable and makes for a more honest system. The fact that they are trying to hide it is raising a red flag for us,” said Tim Hoefer of the Empire Center for Public Policy.

The NYPD pension fund refuses to turn over names. The issue is in court and a state Supreme Court judge has ruled against releasing them. The NYPD retirees say a target will be on their backs if that information is ever released.

“Members in combat that have been fatal to the perpetrator or the perpetrator was injured. And we have numerous people who are incarcerated who would be very interested in that information,” said Retired NYPD Deputy Chief Kevin Clark.

“Is my family going to be threatened? Am I going to be receiving phone calls? It is just not right,” said Retired NYPD Lieutenant Gary Weksler.

The Empire Center says it already has the names of retired and active officers from all other departments across the state. The group says by the end of the month it will officially file its appeal to get the NYPD retiree names.

“This information has been available to the criminals since the day they got arrested. This isn’t new information, which is a part of the reason why it is so frustrating,” Hoefer said.

Undercover officers who worked to bring down terrorists, drug dealers and mobsters say they are nervous.

“We were being protected from giving out our names and showing our faces. Now that we are civilians we are not protected,” said one retired NYPD detective.

Many retired officers still carry a gun and some actually have more than one weapon.

Those who spoke with NY1 say they are not afraid to use deadly force if they think someone is trying to harm them. They say they their lives have been peaceful since retiring and they want to keep it that way.

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