Top NYPD brass don't know if "deeply vetted" anti-crime unit cops worked in the deadly anti-crime unit
The official relaunch of the deadly anti-crime unit raises questions.
At a press conference Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams and top members of the NYPD formally announced the launch of “Neighborhood Safety Units,” a revamp of the controversial plainclothes units disbanded in 2020 after their years of high-profile killings, severe beatings, planted evidence and illegal searches. The plainclothes battalion wore civilian dress; the new version will don jackets with “NYPD” emblazoned on them and have body worn cameras. It’s a whole new world, apparently.
What remains unclear is whether the same cops that racked up miles-long lists of lawsuits and civilian complaints for breaking the law as plainclothes have been picked to be a part of the “Neighborhood Safety Units.”
After a bizarre introduction in which Mayor Eric Adams berated civilians who film the police, Chief of Department Ken Corey took the platform to discuss staffing details. The cops deployed as part of the new units had been deeply vetted, he insisted. “After they volunteer, they have to be vetted and recommended by their commanding officer. The recommendation gets passed to the borough commanding officer for her or his approval. Then it gets forwarded up to the office of the Chief of Department,” added the Chief of Department. “Ultimately to our risk management bureau.” The bureau then takes a “deep dive” into each of the officers and reviews evaluations, disciplinary records, use of force incidents, civilian complaints, community commendations, their sick record, and body camera footage.
It sounds like there’s nothing the leaders of a liberal city like New York don’t know about the members of these elite police units! But later in the presser, when a reporter asked whether there was any personnel overlap between the new units and the old ones, he told her that he didn’t know.
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