NEW YORK —The case of a Brooklyn cop who ran down a family after a day of drinking is now in the hands of a jury, who must decide if the officer was intoxicated and reckless at the time of the accident.

"He's a disgrace to the New York City Police Department," said Maureen McCormick, a prosecuting attorney in the manslaughter trial of the former officer, Joseph Gray, 41. "He may wish to believe that this collision happened the way he said it did. But wishes don't change facts. If they did, then these people would still be alive."

Joseph Gray

Gray, a 14-year veteran of the 72nd Precinct n Sunset Park., Brooklyn, claims that Maria Herrera, 23, Dilcia Pena, 16, and Andy Herrera, 4, darted out in front of his car on the night of Aug. 4, 2001. All three died from their injuries. A second son was born by emergency Caesarean section to Maria, but he died the next day.

Shortly after beginning deliberations at about 3:15 p.m. Thursday, the jury asked to see photos of the crime scene, maps prepared by the prosecution and to hear Gray's statement on the evening of the crash. They also asked to hear testimony about the officer's speed at the time of the collision.

If convicted on the most serious manslaughter charges, Gray could face 15 years in prison. He is also charged with vehicular homicide, criminal negligent homicide and driving while intoxicated.

"Joe Gray didn't do very much to be proud of that day," said his lawyer, Harold Levy. The lawyer admitted that his client was legally intoxicated, but told the jury that some people just have higher tolerances than others and that his client was not drunk when he slammed into the victims at a busy Brooklyn intersection.

McCormick, in her hour and 10 minute closing argument, made an emotional appeal to the jury for justice. "All that is left is these blood-soiled clothes," said the lawyer, pulling a torn, tan blouse out of an evidence bag and pointing to a pair of pocketbooks found at the scene.

Maria Herrera was eight and a half months pregnant when she was struck and killed on Aug. 4, 2001.

"Everything was ahead of them including mom's door," she said of the victims, who were heading home after a shopping trip to Sears. "They never made it because this man," she continued, pointing to Gray, "was out of control on August 4, 2001."

The central question for the jury to consider is whether Gray, who the prosecution says was speeding and ran a red light before the collision, was reckless. This means, as McCormick told the jury, any combination of his acts, including speeding, running a red light or being drunk, would justify a conviction. Gray's alcohol content measured 0.16 — way over the legal limit in New York of 0.10 — four hours after the accident.

"The bottom line here is that he spent the entire day drinking while his wife and kids were home on a Saturday," McCormick said. "This devoted family man spent his day drinking, spending the family money and talking to a woman whose name he can't even remember."

Gray's lawyer, Levy, tried to portray a more sober picture of the officer. He showed jurors a tape made at the 78th Precinct, where Gray was brought for a Breathalyzer and coordination test, both of which he refused. The lawyer pointed out that Gray, who stands stock-still throughout the three-minute segment, did not waiver and seemed in control.

'Joseph Gray either chose not to see or was too drunk to see' — the prosecutor

McCormick, however, urged the jury to consider the testimony of one state expert who said that although Gray admitted to drinking a dozen beers that day, he had to have had at least 18 in his system by the time of the accident.

Quoting an old adage, 'no one is so blind as the person who chooses not to see,' McCormick said "Joseph Gray either chose not to see or was too drunk to see."

The lawyer discounted the testimony of the defense's only eyewitness, Israel Perez, who says the women and young boy dodged out into the path of Gray's car, and focused the attention on the physical evidence.

Dilcia Pena, 16.

The prosecution, in its six-day case, called an accident reconstruction expert and two medical examiners all of whom testified that the victims had to have come from Gray's right, giving him at least five seconds to have seen them in the crosswalk at 46th Street and Third Avenue.

Counting off five seconds as she pounded on the jury box, the lawyer said, "that's how long he had to see them, not from the dark [expressway] but from the lit corner by the park." McCormick also played the 911 call from the chief eyewitness for the defense, Rosa Citron, who saw the accident from her porch.

As the victims family members stifled their cries in the hushed courtroom, Citron was heard wailing as the chaos unfolded before her at about nine that evening.

Andy Herrera was 4 years old.

Levy told the jury who visited the crash site on Wednesday that they should realize how dark it could be and said that his only eyewitness, Perez, had no reason to lie — that people in New York just don't want to get involved.

He also used Gray's own self-analysis of his inebriation to suggest that the officer was in control, prompting McCormick to quip sarcastically in her closing argument, "the drunk says he can drive, so it must be true."