An off-duty Mount Vernon police officer is off the job without pay after a Sunday morning arrest in Queens on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, city officials say. The officer, identified by the department as 29-year-old Steven Moreano, was taken into custody in Queens and immediately suspended without pay. The case is the latest in a string of misconduct and disciplinary headlines that have dogged the department this year.
Department officials told News 12 the arrest happened Sunday morning and that Moreano’s suspension will remain in place while the case moves through the system. According to the outlet, this is the fourth Mount Vernon officer arrested so far this year, based on information from department officials.
Department's recent scrutiny
The DWI arrest lands at a tense moment for the Mount Vernon Police Department, which has already been under heightened scrutiny after a series of earlier incidents and internal disciplinary actions.
CBS New York reported that five members of the department were suspended following a shooting inside a prisoner transport van last October, and that the department responded by updating its intake and scanning procedures.
Other arrests this year
The hits have kept coming in 2026. Earlier this year, a newly promoted Mount Vernon detective was indicted in March on charges tied to an alleged Long Island gun conspiracy, and in April another officer was accused of attempting to deposit a stolen $800,000 check.
Local reporting by LongIsland.com detailed those cases and the suspensions that followed.
What the law could mean
Driving-while-intoxicated cases in New York fall under Vehicle & Traffic Law §1192 and can trigger both criminal charges and separate administrative action by the DMV. A first-offense DWI is typically charged as a misdemeanor, with fines and license-related sanctions.
The New York DMV notes that courts must order ignition-interlock devices for people convicted of DWI under Leandra’s Law, and that aggravated offenses come with steeper penalties. The Vehicle & Traffic Law text that lays out the offenses is available through the New York State Senate.
Mount Vernon officials say Moreano remains suspended without pay while the case moves forward. Court records and formal filings were not available at the time of reporting. This story will be updated as filings and official statements become available.
