Mayor Eric Adams defended his brother’s choice to become NYPD deputy commissioner on Sunday, saying he needed someone he could trust to protect him, including against potential threats from white supremacists.
During an appearance on CNN, the new mayor revealed that his younger brother, former NYPD cop Bernard Adams, will be responsible for protecting his safety.
“Be clear about this: my brother is qualified for the job. First, he will be in charge of my security, which is extremely important to me at a time when we are seeing an increase in white supremacy and hate crimes, â€the second black mayor of Big Apple said on“ State of the Union â€with Jake. Tapper when told about nepotism and ethical issues surrounding the appointment.
“I have to take my safety very seriously.”
The Conflict of Interest Council, a city ethics committee, will ultimately have to “determine” whether to allow the mayor to hire his brother as deputy commissioner, Adams revealed.
“This process is ongoing,” he told reporters afterwards.
In an independent press conference on Sunday, Adams added that “anarchists” are also among the groups his brother can best protect him from, calling their security arrangement “extremely unique.”
“Protection is personal. You’ve got an increase in anarchists in this city, this country. We have a serious problem with white supremacy. And when you talk about what kind of security I want, it’s extremely unique. I don’t want to be far from my audience, â€he said in Manhattan.
“I trust my brother. My brother understands me, â€he continued. “And if I have to put my life in someone’s hands, I want to put it in the hands of someone I trust so much, because it’s a very personal process of your safety.”
Adams’s brother, a 56-year-old retired NYPD sergeant, was recently listed as a deputy commissioner on the NYPD list, according to internal documents obtained by The Post on Friday.
Bernard Adams – currently deputy director of parking at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he has worked since 2011 – confirmed to The Post that he was prepared to oversee government affairs, in a civilian position that usually comes with a salary of ‘approximately $ 242,000.
On Sunday, Eric Adams said his brother would help him find a “balance” between keeping the mayor safe and staying “accessible” to New Yorkers. Adams said his brother was the perfect fit for the role because of his NYPD background – and because he trusted him “deeply”.
“I need that right balance, and I don’t want the people of this town to think that the mayor is not accessible and that he is unwilling to engage with them at the level that I want. represent, â€Adams said. “You saw I took the metro the first day from my office, and that’s the kind of thing I’m going to do.
“My brother has a background in community affairs, this balance that I need, he understands law enforcement. He was a 20 year retired police department veteran, and I need someone I trust around me during those times with my safety, and I have a deep trust in my brother .
Also on Sunday, Adams sought to justify choosing Phil Banks – an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal police corruption investigation – as his deputy mayor for public safety.
Banks was never indicted in the case, but was later appointed by the federal government as an unindicted co-conspirator. Banks and Adams have repeatedly denied that he had committed any wrongdoing, pointing to the fact that the federal government had never laid criminal charges as proof of his innocence.
The mayor claimed that Banks – who had resigned from first place in NYPD uniform as federal investigators investigated “hundreds of thousands” of dollars in Banks’ account – is a “talented” crime fighter who “has confessed his “real mistakes”. .
“I believe Phil acknowledges that there were real mistakes and mistakes that were made, he was not charged with a felony,” Adams said.
“I think when you look at what happened in this town yesterday, a kid was shot dead in a store robbery, it really personifies why you need the best person for the job,†Adam said. Sunday morning, referring to the death of a teenage cashier killed in an East Harlem Burger King.
“I can’t let bad people do bad things to good people… when I have a talented person who just made… bad decisions,†Adams said. “[Banks] did nothing criminal.
“Phil is a great person at the right time to do this job,†he added. “Leaving this talent on the bench is not the right thing to do. He’s the right person at the time to really bring all my law enforcement agencies and entities together, and he’s going to show New Yorkers every day [that] he’s the right person for the job, and I’m delighted to have him on the team.
Additional reports by Reuven Fenton
