NYPD Black: Affirmative Action Black #3 Man Quits in Disgust Over Insufficient Black Power; Communist Mayor’s Black Lesbian Wife Had Favored Him for PC Job

 

Philip Banks III Photo: David McGlynn 

Re-posted by Nicholas Stix
 

NYPD in damage control after chief of department quits
By Larry Celona, Tara Palmeri and Bruce Golding
October 31, 2014 | 9:41 a.m.
New York Post

The NYPD’s chief of department abruptly quit Friday rather than take a promotion from Police Commissioner Bill Bratton that the chief believed was a powerless position setting him up for failure, law-enforcement sources told The Post.

Philip Banks III was to be promoted to first deputy commissioner at a ceremony Monday but backed out at the last minute during a heated meeting at Police Headquarters, sources said.

“You still have not done anything. You have not changed the direction of the Police Department. You asked me to come up with six or seven policies that you did not implement,” Banks fumed at the city’s top cop.

“The department is just going to go further into turmoil, and I don’t want to get blamed for that.”

The move left the NYPD without a black or Hispanic person in any of its top three positions after Bratton’s ouster of First Deputy Rafael Pineiro, who resigned under pressure in September.

It also set up a looming crisis between Mayor de Blasio and the minority community, with several City Council members expressing outrage at Banks’ departure.

In a statement, Council Members Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) and Vanessa Gibson (D-Bronx) said de Blasio “was elected in large part [by] New York’s black and brown community on assurance that he would mend poor police-community relations.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton, an NYPD critic, said he had spoken to de Blasio and would discuss their “conversation about diversity” at a rally in Harlem on Saturday.

Sources said that when Bratton offered Banks Pineiro’s post, Banks — then No. 3 in the NYPD’s chain of command — insisted on assuming more responsibilities than Pineiro had.

Pineiro’s duties were largely administrative, including oversight of the Personnel, Support Services and Criminal Justice bureaus.

Banks demanded that his successor as chief of department report directly to him, which is how the NYPD has historically operated, except under Commissioners Lee Brown and Ray Kelly.

His other conditions included oversight of the Internal Affairs Bureau, sources said.

During his first stint as commissioner, Bratton had restored the first deputy’s authority over the chief of department.

Bratton initially promised to grant Banks’ wishes, sources said.

But Bratton dithered, and the power struggle came to a head during Friday’s morning meeting at 1 Police Plaza as Banks demanded a firm answer.

Bratton said he needed more time to consider the matter, at which point Banks exploded and said he was quitting, sources said.

Sources said Bratton implored Banks to stay, telling him, “I think you’re making a major mistake.”

“I’m asking you to reconsider. Give me 30 days to work it out,” Bratton said.
But Banks refused and stormed out, sources said.

Bratton then called de Blasio, who summoned the commish to City Hall and chewed him out.

“You promised me you were going to use Banks and implement some of his policies. I counted on you to make changes, and now I’m blindsided by this,” de Blasio yelled.

Bratton appeared shaken as he left the meeting and “looked like he needed a glass of water,” which he was handed by an aide, sources said.

Sources said the mayor didn’t want to lose Banks, who was First Lady Chirlane McCray’s choice for commissioner over Bratton.

In a statement, de Blasio said he was “disappointed to hear of Chief Philip Banks’ personal decision to step down.”

“He has served New York City admirably during his nearly 30 years on the force, and we were enthusiastic about the leadership and energy he would have brought to the position of first deputy commissioner,” he added.

Bratton told reporters he was surprised when Banks quit, and he insisted he had planned on giving him more responsibilities.

He said Banks “was going to focus very heavily on our personnel-development training initiatives at the academy, and also the significant rebuilding of relationships with the minority communities after the questionable stop-and-frisk issues over the past few years.”

“He was going to effectively be my right-hand man as he has largely been this past year, so he will be missed, certainly by me both personally and professionally,” Bratton said.

Additional reporting by Georgett Roberts