Here’s a name we haven’t heard in a while. Bernie Kerik was the New York City Police Department Commissioner under Rudy Guiliani. He ran the NYPD during 9/11 and the recovery that followed. He also oversaw the lowest crime rates in the Big Apple that have been seen since he left. He was a champion of broken windows policing and putting away those who commit gun crimes for a long time. And now he has a few things to say about what’s happened to his city since he left public service. To put it mildly, he’s not happy. He has his sights set on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who he describes as “the worst DA ever.” And lest you think he’s totally taking sides here, he’s not such a big fan of Mayor Eric Adams either. (NY Post)
Bernie Kerik. Army vet. Worked with Navy SEALs. Top cop. Mayor Giuliani’s police commissioner on 9/11.
Kerik: “This mayor must repeal bail reform — so many on gun charges are immediately released back into the community, it’s horrible.
“Lose that prosecutor. Bag Bragg. He should never be in office. Worst DA ever. He’s emboldening bad guys. Harming citizens plus law enforcement doing their jobs.
“This mayor must hire more cops. I had so many more under my command. Crime’s up yet it’s thousands less cops. Protection’s down and crime’s up. This mayor must do it.
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Kerik blasted Bragg for the revolving door of criminal justice for those committing gun crimes in the city. He called for the return of the “stop-and-frisk” policies used during his tenure, saying that they worked and that the Department of Justice has upheld them as constitutional. He talked at length about the effect that high crime rates have on the city. He said there is no thriving economy, no tourism, and no rebounding real estate values if people are afraid to walk the streets.
It certainly sounds as if he’s endorsing all of the proposals that Mayor Eric Adams has brought forward, along with some that he hasn’t. But that doesn’t mean that he’s endorsing Adams personally. As I suggested above, his critique of Adams was, if anything, even more withering than that of Bragg.
He talked about how he knew Adams from back in the day when he was a lieutenant serving under Kerik. He made a point of saying, “I’m not saying he’s a good mayor.” He called him “a desk officer” who was “never heroic.” He said that he “took a test” to make the rank of captain before he retired, but he was just “a test taker” and he “never stood out.”
He finished by saying, “Eric just clucks. He’s a chicken.”
Ouch. That’s a bit harsh, to say the least. But hopefully, the message won’t be lost in the personal attacks. If there’s anyone out there who knows how to bring down the crime rates in New York City it’s probably Bernie Kerik. He knows because he did it. He lived it. He’s a controversial figure because he got into some ethics trouble after leaving the NYPD and serving as the Interior Minister of Iraq for a time under the Bush administration. But when he ran the NYPD, he got the job done.
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