People v. Raquel

Defendant’s contention that the trial court improperly closed the courtroom during the testimony of the arresting officer, who had been reassigned to undercover narcotics duty, is unpreserved for appellate review, since defense counsel never objected to the closure and never even challenged the officer’s testimony that his safety would be endangered by testifying in open court (People v Brown, 216 AD2d 100, lv denied 86 NY2d 872). We decline to review the claim in the interest of justice. Were we to review it, we would find it to be without merit, the evidence adduced at the hearing being…