Gov. Cuomo isn’t the only New York official talking garbage these days: Police Commissioner Bill Bratton also slammed The Post — calling it “garbage in, garbage out.”
When the news makes you look bad, these guys seem to think, blame the newspaper.
What got Bratton — and Mayor de Blasio, too — so unraveled?
It’s was our stories about the NYPD’s silly retraining program for cops following the death of Eric Garner while resisting arrest last July.
In an attempt to fix a police-brutality problem that doesn’t exist, de Blasio and Bratton ordered the entire force retrained. And as The Post has reported, some of the new training ideas and advice for cops are — to put it mildly — bizarre.
A deputy commissioner wanted cops to suck breath mints to keep from cursing.
In a mandatory three-day retraining program, officers are told, in a tense situation, “close your eyes and take a deep breath.” Never mind that doing so could get someone killed.
There’s more. Cops must watch a scene from the film “Road House,” where Patrick Swayze — playing a bouncer — tells fellow goons to “be nice” as they confront unruly clientele.
The sessions are said to include no real-life simulations or new tactics for dealing with hostile suspects. And they’re so boring, they put cops to sleep.
Clearly embarrassed, de Blasio and Bratton attacked our reports.
The mayor insists the retraining would have a “transcendental effect.” Bratton says it’s “of great value.”
But blaming the messenger does New York no favors.
Let’s be clear: We admire Bratton’s lifelong record of crime-fighting. And no one doubts that policing — and officers’ manners — can always improve.
But NYPD is the most restrained big-city police force in America. More important, to put cops through a nutty retraining program — and then blame a newspaper for reporting on it — won’t keep New Yorkers safe.