bill-bratton

Don't Hate the NYPD for Protesting, Hate Them For Why They Did It

Jordan Sargent · 12/30/14 02:00PM

As the outrage winds have swirled around the NYPD's decision to turn their backs to Bill De Blasio at the funeral of murdered officer Rafael Ramos, some in the police force's corner have been compelled to bend in the other direction. This weekend, both NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton and semi-professional police state spokesperson Rudy Giulinai distanced themselves from the police protest, with Bratton calling the demonstration "inappropriate." They are right, but for the wrong reasons.

New York's Law Enforcement Unions Are Filled With Pathetic Crybabies

Andy Cush · 12/19/14 03:35PM

Patrick Lynch, chairman of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association and head spokesbaby for the inconsolable id of the NYPD, gave a private speech to his union last week. Bill de Blasio "is not running the city of New York," he said in response to a series of perceived slights from City Hall. "He thinks he's running a fucking revolution." The raging toddlers in attendance howled and smacked their tiny palms together in approval.

The NYPD Probably Didn't Stop All That Crime

Max Rivlin-Nadler · 02/09/13 02:40PM

Here's the popular consensus: In the mid-nineties, New York City finally got tough on crime. By using the ground-breaking CompStat computer system, cracking down on misdemeanors and criminalizing social situations (like hanging out with other people in parks or hallways), as well as instituting its controversial "Stop and Frisk" strategy, crime fell. It went down a jaw-dropping 40% in three years. Bill Bratton (pictured above), its intrepid police commissioner, was hailed as an innovator and savior. The legacy of Mayor Rudolph Giulliani was forever intertwined with the "broken windows" policy, which then spread to cities worldwide. Being tough on crime meant arresting anyone (mostly poor people) for the slightest of infractions. And that's how New York City came back.

The Jackson Money Train; Letterman vs. Conan

cityfile · 08/13/09 01:27PM

• The value of Michael Jackson's estate may double by the end of the year thanks to the surge in music sales and all those movie/merch deals. [LAT]
• Bad news for Conan: Repeats of David Letterman's show last week still managed to beat new episodes of the Tonight Show in the ratings. [NYT]
• For the first time, Us Weekly's website attracted more monthly visitors than People.com. Us's footage of Michael Jackson's hair on fire helped. [WWD]
• Bill Bratton, the former police commissioner of LA and, before that, New York City, has landed a book deal with Random House's Broadway Books. [AP]
• Does lots of buzz on Twitter send people to movie theaters and boost box office sales? Not so much, at least according to one poll. [NYT]
• Dr. Dre, Interscope chairman Jimmy Iovine, and Hewlett-Packard are teaming up to "save digital music." Good luck with that, guys. [CNET]

Compassionate Angelenos

Gawker · 01/03/03 08:48AM

L.A. city councilman, Nate Holden, on ex-NYPD chief Bill Bratton's zero-tolerance approach to minor crimes: "What he did in New York he cannot do here. Angelenos have more compassion for the disadvantaged." More compassion for the disadvantaged? Is he kidding? Oh, wait. We get it. When a Rodeo Drive socialite digs a stiletto into the back of the homeless person she steps on en route to Ivar, the shoes are cheaper, and therefore, less insulting.
Recruiters see gold in NYPD brass [LA Daily News]