NYPD blasted after ‘cringe-worthy’ music video goes viral
It’s New York’s Finest as you’ve never seen them — and probably never should.
The commanding officer of the Seventh Precinct on the Lower East Side and eight of his neighborhood coordination officers have recorded a cringe-worthy rap video about their jobs in a bid to relate to kids, sources told The Post.
“‘Cringy’ is being kind,’’ a police source said.
In the video, which hit social media Friday, the officers portray shady-looking characters standing in a suspect lineup.
One at time, they step forward to rap about their neighborhood patrol duties, rhyming over an apparent karaoke recreation of the instrumental to Drake’s “Energy.”
“I got energy, gotta lotta energy,” one officer begins, cribbing from the opening line to the Drake hit while wearing shades and a backward baseball cap. “Tryin’ to give the ’hood lots and lots of synergy.”
Commanding Officer Steven Hellman then enters the frame with his hoodie over his head.
“I’m the commander in chief, the 7 CO. Lettin’ ya’ll know how my NCOs flow,” he raps.
Another hip-hop cop admits that his poetic skills are lackluster.
“Eggdrop soups from Ming’s, if you need help, give our phones rings,” he says. “Who’s the hottest emcee? Haha, not me. I may spit the wackest rhymes, but I can help you solve crimes.”
The video ends with an officer encouraging people to “hit me up on Twitter” as the squad cheers.
The footage appeared to have been taken down after social-media users blasted the outreach effort.
The NCOs are part of the NYPD’s new Neighborhood Policing initiative, an effort to connect cops with the community. But several officers told The Post that the video was “embarrassing.’’
A retired NYPD cop added, “If this is the new Police Department, I’m glad I’m retired.”
Lower East Side teens agreed the clip won’t help cops gain kids’ trust.
“I see what they’re trying to do, and it’s not working. It’s ridiculous,” said Makayla Butler, 17, who lives in the Baruch Houses.
“It’s hard to watch, actually, because you see it’s coming from a good place. I just feel bad for them because I know they put a lot of work into it, but they have no idea what they’re doing.”
Dan Villanueva, 17, said the video might have been more effective 20 years ago.
“But our generation is a lot more jaded than our parents’ generation,” he said. “If you want us to take you seriously, you have to speak to us like we’re intelligent. White cops rapping in a super-corny way — that’s just not what we respond to.”
The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Daniel Prendergast