What to Know
- NYC PBA is calling for the resignation of NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill and for the state governor to remove Mayor Bill de Blasio
- The PBA delegate assembly unanimously approved resolutions of "no confidence" in the two, the police union announced Wednesday
- The vote comes a little over a week after O’Neill fired the police officer accused of using a banned chokehold on Eric Garner in 2014
The New York City PBA is calling for the resignation of NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill and for the state governor to remove Mayor de Blasio, after the PBA delegate assembly unanimously approved resolutions of "no confidence" in the two, the police union announced Wednesday.
The 379 NYC PBA delegates unanimously approved the resolutions at the PBA's 125th Annual Convention in Albany Wednesday.
“Today’s votes are an unequivocal indictment of our failed leaders in City Hall and 1 Police Plaza. For years, Mayor de Blasio has demonized police officers and undermined our efforts to protect our city. For years, Commissioner O’Neill has cravenly acquiesced to the Mayor and his anti-cop allies,” PBA President Pat Lynch said in a statement.
De Blasio's office was quick to dismiss the PBA vote as another attempt to "divide our city."
"We won't stand for it," a mayoral spokesperson said. "Under this mayor and Police Commissioner, our officers and the communities they serve are closer than ever and the city is the safest it's ever been. That isn't changing."
Meanwhile in a statement the NYPD said: “The dedicated women and men of the NYPD are out there each and every day, serving the public proudly and keeping the city safe. The Department stands with its officers, and will always support them and the brave work that they do. As the Police Commissioner has said before, his heart and soul are with the NYPD, and he is honored to lead this Department as it continues to drive crime to historically low levels.”
NBC 4 New York reached out to the office of Gov. Cuomo for comment as well.
The union vote comes a little over a week after O’Neill fired the police officer accused of using a banned chokehold on Eric Garner in 2014, siding with the departmental trial judge who recommended termination earlier this month.
Local
O'Neill's decision, revealed early Aug. 19, is final, closing the years-long book on embattled NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, whom a local grand jury and federal prosecutors all declined to criminally prosecute. Pantaleo will not receive his 13-year vested pension, but will get the contributions back that he had made over his years on the force.
“The unjust termination of P.O. Daniel Pantaleo was merely the final straw: both men have displayed an appalling pattern of malfeasance and nonfeasance that disqualifies them from continuing to serve in their current offices. Neither can hope to regain the trust or confidence of New York City police officers. They must resign or be fired,” Lynch’s statement goes on to say.
Wednesday’s development is not the first time Lynch blasted O’Neill or the mayor regarding the Pantaleo ruling, or called for de Blasio’s removal.
Following the controversial decision last week, Lynch charged against the leadership of the city and police department saying they "are absolutely afraid of criminal advocates and based this decision not on the facts, but based this decision on the politics," calling the events that unfolded in 2014 as "not a crime" but a "chaotic situation,” while also calling for de Blasio to be removed. He also said that O’Neill “lost” the police department.
The NYC PBA’s nearly 400 delegates are the directly elected precinct- and command-level representatives of nearly 25,000 active NYPD members in the rank of police officers.
