Politics & Government
NYPD Commissioner Supports Police Budget Cuts 1K Percent, He Says
"To help the kids of our city, I'm 1,000% behind shifting some funding," NYPD Commissioner Shea wrote on Twitter Monday.
NEW YORK CITY — NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea supports cutting police funding to support programming for city kids, he tweeted Monday.
“To help the kids of our city, I’m 1,000% behind shifting some funding," Shea wrote on Twitter. "It’s incumbent upon all of us to dig down and do what’s needed.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday plans to redirect cash from the NYPD budget to social service programs and youth groups amid a week of mass protests against police brutality, spurred by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis last month.
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The mayor has repeatedly declined to say how much money he would redirect way from the NYPD budget, but saying an ultimate number would be negotiated at City Hall.
"Something substantial," de Blasio promised. "I'm not going to give you a number today."
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The Commissioner's commitment to reworking the books came as de Blasio worked to quash rumors Shea and Chief of Department Terrence Monahan would resign.
"I don't know who is planting these rumors," de Blasio told reporters during his Monday morning press briefing. "They're wrong."
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