Cops won a legal battle against firefighters yesterday in the Finest vs. Bravest brawl that occurred near Ground Zero three years ago.
Manhattan federal Judge Richard Holwell said the NYPD acted appropriately by arresting firefighters who crossed into the restricted Ground Zero area during a protest rally Nov. 1, 2001.
He tossed out a suit filed by eight firefighter union leaders who claimed their civil and free-speech rights were violated.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, ex-Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik and ex-Fire Commissioner Tom Von Essen were listed as defendants and exonerated.
The trespassing charges against the firefighters were eventually dropped in state court, but some of them were furious they were collared in the first place.
The firefighters were protesting the city's order reducing the number of Bravest assigned to work at the site.
Holwell said police officers had probable cause to bust firefighters who crossed into the restricted zone
