Bratton said that among his accomplishments during his most recent tenure as NYPD commissioner were bringing down crime, better preparing the force for a potential terrorist attack and improving the safety of officers through the purchase of better equipment.
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City business leaders were shocked at news Tuesday of Police Commissioner Bill Bratton’s September departure, but breathed a collective sigh of relief when Chief of Department James “Jimmy” O’Neill was tapped as his successor.
In September New York City will have a new top cop.
He’ll replace William Bratton, who’s retiring next month.
“As we go forward and face the crises of race in America, crime in America, fear of terrorism, and in the midst of the turmoil in this presidential election, there is no police department in America that will be better prepared to face all that we are going to have to face in the future”, he said.
According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, Commissioner Bill Bratton will end his career in law enforcement with his resignation from the NYPD.
A Brooklyn native, O’Neill has risen through the NYPD’s ranks for over 30 years, starting as a patrolman in the transit system.
The news broke on the same day that all the borough’s precincts are hosting their annual National Night Out Against Crime. As part of the outreach, specialized “neighborhood coordinating officers” even pass out their cellphone numbers.
“I hope it’s a much safer place because of the… years I spent there”, Bratton said.
Bratton is in his second stint as commissioner in NY.
While the program earned praise in then-President Bill Clinton’s 1994 State of the Union address, internal police memos emerged portraying it as lax and ineffective.
“Bratton has been an advocate of the broken windows theory, ethnically diverse police force, maintaining a strong relationship with the community, tackling police corruption, being tough on gangs and having a strict no-tolerance of disruptive behavior”.
“It is now time for me to move on”, Bratton said, who plans to “pursue other opportunities”, not in government, but didn’t specify them during the presser.
“It’s not true, Irish people do hug once in a while”, he said.
In Harlem on Tuesday, black residents said they liked the idea, but expressed skepticism.
“This is a bittersweet moment for me”, he said.
“They could be nicer”, he said. The death of Eric Garner, who died at the hands of police on Staten Island in 2014, sparked protests in NY and across the nation. The New York Times noted that he would be taking a job in the private sector, “ending a 45-year career in public life that spanned the country, from Boston to Los Angeles, and that reshaped the image of what a police commander could be”.
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Current events and charges of racism against police departments across the nation completely overwhelmed his administration, and he couldn’t get any traction on the changes he wanted to make. He served as Police Commissioner under Mayor Rudy Giuliani before being re-appointed by then-newly elected Mayor de Blasio. “I believe it’s going to change this city”.
