The head of the NYPD sergeants’ union praised the new police commissioner Sunday saying the top cop is “taking all the right steps” — after years of sparring with his predecessor.
“Commissioner [Dermot] Shea is so far doing all the right things from what I can see,” Sergeants Benevolent Association president Ed Mullins said on “The Cats Roundtable” with radio host John Catsimatidis on AM 970. “I think he’s taking all the right steps at this point.”
“Unfortunately, he’s been left with a real bucket of garbage from his predecessor,” Mullins said, taking a familiar swipe at former commissioner James O’Neill, who retired at the end of November.
The union head said the new commissioner “is trying to balance the job” as the state undergoes to start the new year massive statewide criminal justice reform — with new lax bail laws and discovery requirements that came under fire by critics before they were even rolled out.
The recent reform even drew criticism from Mayor Bill de Blasio last week who called for the laws to be amended.
“We’ve weakened the laws. We’ve weakened the Police Department,” Mullins said before taking aim at city district attorneys, claiming they are not enforcing the laws.
Supporters of the reform say the changes help prevent people from being jailed just because they are poor.
“We *know* the alternative didn’t work,” Scott Hechinger, senior staff attorney and director of policy at Brooklyn
Defender Services, tweeted Saturday. “Injustice, tens of millions [of] dollars wasted, racism, higher recidivism rates, family separation. 2 systems. One for rich. One for poor. Have patience for change.”