Gov. Cuomo demanded on Thursday that the head of the Civilian Complaint Review Board apologize or resign over his anti-cop slur in an attack on the NYPD’s unions.
Cuomo blasted CCRB Chairman Richard Emery’s use of the word “pig” in a published report as “worse than in poor taste. It’s obnoxious. It’s insulting to all police.”
“This is a police force that has been doing phenomenal duty under difficult circumstances,” Cuomo said.
Emery, who was appointed by Mayor de Blasio in 2014, ripped the NYPD’s unions while defending his law firm’s representation of a man whose claims of excessive force were substantiated by the CCRB.
Last week, Post columnist Bob McManus accused Emery of having a conflict of interest and raised the specter of him “substantiating an illegitimate complaint because it represents a potentially lucrative lawsuit.”
Cuomo called on Emery to either eat his words or quit the city agency that investigates allegations of police misconduct.
“To judge civilian complaints fairly, you have to come with a fair mind and an open mind. If he believes what he said about police officers, which was highly distasteful and ugly, I don’t know how any police officer would ever believe he has an open mind,” Cuomo said.
Less than an hour later, the CCRB released a prepared statement in which Emery offered a half-hearted apology and tried to walk back his affront.
“To the extent that anyone was offended by my poor choice of words, I apologize and want to make clear that nothing I said was directed at our superb public servants,” Emery said.
Cuomo said he was “glad” that Emery apologized, but Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch called the apology “disingenuous at best” and said Emery “should be dismissed or resign now.”
Sergeants-union President Ed Mullins said Emery “used the term ‘pig’ knowing it was disrespectful.”
De Blasio expressed continued support for Emery, saying his remark “was insensitive and inappropriate and needed to be fixed, and I’m glad he fixed it.”
Additional reporting by Shawn Cohen and Rich Calder