Ray Kelly Quiet on Alleged NYPD Facebook Ugliness

Ray Kelly Quiet on Alleged NYPD Facebook Ugliness

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly has not yet commented on a Monday night report about the "No More West Indian Day Detail" Facebook group, in which users who appeared to be city officers called parade-goers "savages" and "animals." Kelly's spokesperson Paul Browne deflected questions about the incident on Tuesday by saying only, "The Internal Affairs Bureau has undertaken an investigation of the matter." Local politicians have more definitive things to say.

Add it to the pile of bad moments this year for the NYPD, say critics, including the ticket-fixing scandal, rape charges, gun smuggling, and drug-planting. "There's a problem that needs to be fixed," said Jumaane Williams, a city councilman who was detained after the parade, an episode he says can be owed in part to his race. "We can’t address the problem if no one wants to admit that the problem’s there." Other notable city figures are echoing the admission of a problem, the Times reports:

“Disgusting,” the city public advocate, Bill de Blasio, said.

“Reprehensible,” said the Manhattan borough president, Scott M. Stringer.

“Racist,” said the Brooklyn borough president, Marty Markowitz.

William C. Thompson, a candidate for mayor, said he hoped the comments would turn out not to have been by actual police officers. “If they are, it’s disgraceful,” he said. Indeed, it is difficult to prove that those calling themselves officers were so, or using real names, though The Times did match many names with those of officers.

A spokesperson for Bloomberg said the department is "investigating and will handle the matter appropriately, as they always do. If the comments reported are accurate and from the officers, they are completely unacceptable." But along with the other recent high-profile missteps by the NYPD, the Facebook scandal is contributing to the chipping away of Commissioner Kelly's long untarnished sheen. As Letitia James, a Brooklyn council member, put it: "I don’t believe there is a clear message coming from the top that this behavior is unacceptable."
Related: Ray Kelly's Many Problems [NYM]

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Filed Under: nypd ,ray kelly ,crimes and misdemeanors ,facebook ,corrupt police ,technology ,west indian day parade

Ray Kelly Quiet on Alleged NYPD Facebook Ugliness
Joe Coscarelli
Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:18:16 GMT