An independent office to oversee the NYPD’s operations would “make our city less safe,” according to Mayor Bloomberg, who vowed to veto the proposal to create such an office it gets to his desk. The bill, supported by mayoral candidates Christine Quinn and Bill de Blasio, as well as groups like the NYCLU, would create an inspector general’s to monitor the department on things like stop-and-frisk.
In a speech yesterday, Bloomberg said the bill was “disastrous for public safety” and characterized it as an attack against “the greatest Police Department in the world.”
The mayor’s veto could, however, prove inconsequential. Council Speaker Quinn claimed at Monday’s mayoral debate that even if a veto came, the council had enough votes to override.
“We have a situation right now in this city, whether we like it or not, where some of the practices of the Police Department have caused significant rifts between the police and the community,” she said. “Those type of rifts make it harder to keep people safe, not easier. This type of monitoring will help move us beyond those issues in the future.”
(Photo: Center for American Progress/Flickr)
