New York’s police officer union called for Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly to quit over his handling of the police shooting of an unarmed teenager last month, reports the New York Times. “That was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” said Patrick J. Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. Lynch has been outspoken in criticizing Kelly after the Jan. 24 shooting of Timothy Stansbury Jr. on a rooftop. Kelly said there “appears to be no justification for this shooting.” Lynch called the statement hasty and unfair, as it came before the officer could be interviewed.
Kelly spokesman Paul Brown replied that, “By promptly and candidly reporting on the Stansbury shooting, the police commissioner performed a public service for police officers and the community alike. Some critics are too narrowly focused to appreciate that fact.” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said, We have the best police commissioner this city’s ever seen.”
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/11/nyregion/11kelly.html