Bill Bratton is back as New York Cityās top cop ā replacing Ray Kelly with a vow to remain tough on crime while repairing frayed relations between the NYPD and the š³cityās minority communities.
āI cannot even begin to thank Mayor-elect [Bill] de Blasio for the opportunity he and his administration providešd me to return to this profession,ā Bratton, 66, said at a news conference inź§ Red Hook, Brooklyn.
āI am pleased to return to an administration that has spoken so much about what Iāve attempted to do in 46 years, to bring the police and community together,ā said Bratton, a Vietnam vet who also served aź§s Los Angeles polšice chief and Boston police commissioner during his celebrated career in law enforcement.
āI will get it right agaiš§n in New York City,ā he said.
While staunchly backing de Blasioās vow to improve community relations, Bratton made it clear he also backs stop-and-frisk ā which the mayor-elect has harshly criticšŖized.
āStop-and-frisk is essential to every police department in America. But itās also essential that it be done constiš¬tutionally and respectfully. And that is my commitment to this mayorš³ and to the city, that it will be done that way,ā Bratton said.
āAs police commissioner of the Cityą“ of New York, I will work very hard, move very quickly, to once again bring legitimacy and trust to the citizens of this city who feį©į©į©į©į©į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©ā¤ā¤ā¤ā¤į©š±į©į©į©el they donāt have it.ā
The Boston native šalso predicted rankā-and-file cops would welcome the change in leadership after Kellyās latest stint, which began in January 2002. Kelly also served as commissioner from 1992 to 1994.
āIāve talked to a lot of New York copź¦s on the subways and on the streeź¦ts, and they want change,ā he said. āSo I think weāll be able to work very, very well together.ā
Outgoing Commissioner Kelly congratulated Bratton ā but didnāt mention de Blasio ā in a brief statement. āToday, our city is safer than ever before with histoš¬ric decreases in crime, including record-low shootings and murders, and I am confident that record of safety will continue,ā he said.
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who clashed with Bratton during Brattonās two-year tenure under him, said, āThereās no police professional out there who is better.ā He added that de Blasioās decision is āa mošre moderate approach. Heās moving toward the middle.ā
De Blasio gushed about his new top cop.
āThis is a great day for New York City,ā he said, vowing over and over that Bratton would repair what he called a lack of trust between tšøhe NYPD and the cityās minority communitāies because of stop-and-frisk.
āThe way to fight crime, to ensure safety, is [working] with the community,āš° de Blasio said. āPublic safety and respect for the public are not contradictory ideas; they are complementary ideas that go hand in hand.ā
The incoming commissioner said his top priorities would be to maintain the cityās record-low crime rates achieved under Kelly during the Giuliani and Bloomberg administrations,š to work closely with the feds to thwart terror plots, and to improve police-commāunity relations.
He said he would also focus on motor-vehicle fatalities, which he notešd are roughly as high as homicide rates.