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Letters to the Editor — June 26, 2021
Former NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton is “encouraged” by Eric Adams’ mayoral election lead, saying in an interview Sunday that the rest of the City Hall hopefuls hold “very questionable” positions on policing.
“I’m encouraged by the potential election of Eric Adams, out of a field of candidates that were very questionable,” Bratton said on WABC 770’s “The Cats Roundtable,” adding he disagreed with their positions on “the critical nature of police.”
Adams, who stands 10 points above the field with just first-choice votes counted after Tuesday’s primary, “has made it quite clear that he intends to support the police department,” Bratton told show host John Catsimatidis.
“The good news is that at least in New York, at the top of government, there will be some sanity return,” said the former police commissioner, noting that Adams’ Republican opponent Curtis Sliwa also holds pro-law enforcement views.
But Bratton expressed disapproval about the Big Apple’s City Council, which he says is full of politicians who are “hellbent to basically screw things up.”
“We’ll have to keep our fingers crossed that the next mayor can basically control them,” he said of the Council’s 51 members.
Meanwhile, Bratton — who has headed the NYPD twice as well as formerly leading the LAPD and Boston police department — also praised President Joe Biden, who on Wednesday released an anti-crime proposal that fit the longtime law enforcement professional’s pro-cop, tough-on-crime outlook.
“It’s a comprehensive set of proposals … [that] has stopped the swing of the pendulum to the far left,” said Bratton. “His debunking of defund the police, and clearly stating that his effort is to refund the police, is a promising sign.”
The Democratic president encouraged localities to spend part of the $350 billion of COVID stimulus funds on hiring cops.
“We’re now providing more guidance on how they can use the $350 billion … to help reduce crime and address the root causes,” Biden said last week. “For example, cities experiencing an increase in gun violence are able to use American Rescue Plan dollars to hire police officers needed for community policing and to pay their overtime.”
Additional reporting by Tina Moore
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