New York City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio on Thursday named Bill Bratton as the new commissioner of the city’s police department.
Bratton previously served as NYPD Commissioner under Mayor Rudy Giuliani from 1994 until he resigned in 1996. He has also led the police departments in Boston and Los Angeles.
De Blasio, who made reforming the NYPD’s current stop-and-frisk policy a central component of his mayoral campaign, is scheduled to make an official announcement later in the day at the Red Hook Justice Community Center. His transition team confirmed Bratton’s appointment in a press release issued prior to the announcement. It included a statement from de Blasio in which he praised Bratton as a “proven crime fighter.”
“He knows what it takes to keep a city safe, and make communities full partners in the mission. Together, we are going to preserve and deepen the historic gains we’ve made in public safety—gains Bill Bratton helped make possible. And we will do it by rejecting the false choice between keeping New Yorkers safe and protecting their civil rights. This is an Administration that will do both,” de Blasio’s statement said.
The press release also included a statement from Bratton.
“Mayor-Elect de Blasio’s priorities are my priorities. This is the best police force in the nation, and we are going to ensure our men and women have the best technology, the most innovative tactics and the strong support of the communities they protect,” Bratton said. “This department will not rest on its laurels. We are going to continue making history as the safest big city in America.”
This post has been updated.
