Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Wednesday again slammed ex-commissioner Ray Kelly for his “egregious” allegations that the NYPD has been cooking the books on crime statistics, going on to say New York City is the safest large city in the U.S. and that 2015 has been the safest crime year since the 1960s.
“[Kelly] is engaging in politics, and as you know, the first casualty of politics is usually the truth,” Bratton said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” adding that Kelly is trying to sell a book and is reportedly mulling a mayoral run.
Kelly said this week on “Reaching Out with Gregory Floyd” that “there is some redefinition going on as to what amounts to a shooting.” Kelly then said in a statement on Tuesday that police classify shooting victims who won’t cooperate as having self-inflicted wounds, and he said that cops don’t classify people who suffer graze wounds as shooting victims.
The NYPD said in a fact sheet emailed to amNewYork that these allegations are “unsupported by fact.”
“Graze wounds (that draw any blood) are counted as shooting victims just as they always have been,” cops said in an email. Police also said that failure to cooperate with police has never resulted in a classification of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Bratton also dismissed the Daily News’ call to investigate these claims, remarking that the newspaper “jumped the gun” on its op-ed.
“It doesn’t require an investigation … What are we going to base this investigation on? The allegations by a former police commissioner, which we are refuting categorically, line by line? What are you going to investigate? Any Tom, Dick, or Harry — even one who has the stature of Mr. Kelly — comes up and alleges, without substantiation?” Bratton asked.
Bratton said that the NYPD stands by its crime statistics and that it will be up to Kelly to prove his “egregious” allegations.
“The Medical Examiner of the City of New York is happy to take [Kelly] on relative to his allegation that she is cooking the books relative to murders,” Bratton said.
A representative for Kelly did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
