By John D. Macari Jr
NYPD union warns giving CCRB final disciplinary authority would “spell the end of policing” but donated to a senator who introduced a bill to do just that.
The world largest police union, the NYC’s Police Benevolent Association (PBA) is facing allegations of hypocrisy after blasting NYC’s Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), who is seeking final disciplinary authority over the NYPD, while at the same time, the PBA’s very own political donations went to the a lawmaker pushing to give CCRB that exact power.
Police Benevolent Association (PBA) President Patrick Hendry recently warned that giving the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) final disciplinary authority would “spell the end of policing in this city.” This statement came in response to CCRB interim chair Dr. Mohammad Khalid’s testimony in front of New York City Council, where he stated his agency is “a tiger, but we don’t have the teeth.”
A recent search of FollowTheMoney.org revealed the PBA contributed $2,000 to State Sen. Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) — who introduced Bill S6062, legislation that would hand the CCRB binding disciplinary authority and strip the commissioner of exclusive control over NYPD discipline.
Hendry’s Theatrics
Hendry was quick to publicly voice his criticism directly at Dr. Khalid, saying:
“With his blatantly biased voting record and dangerous plan to strip away the Police Commissioner’s authority, Dr. Khalid has turned out to be just another anti-cop wolf in sheep’s clothing,” Hendry said.
“He and his fellow radicals on the CCRB board are driving good cops away from the NYPD and putting every New York City neighborhood at risk. He must be removed from the interim chair position.”
The hypocrisy here is Hendry has not made a public statement about Senator Kevin Parker’s bill nor has called for him to resign. The question many in the NYPD are asking is “Why not?”, Parker like the CCRB Chair also seeks to achieve the same goal of giving the CCRB final disciplinary authority.
Pointing Fingers
PBA leadership has also sought to shift responsibility onto NYPD brass, arguing that politically appointed police management has failed to adequately stand up to the CCRB.
“Unfortunately, rather than fighting back, NYPD management has historically tried to appease CCRB at the expense of cops on the streets,” Hendry wrote.
Critics, however, say the union should be on the front line of this fight but instead they are blaming the coaches (NYPD Managers) for bowing to CCRB while simultaneously they are rubbing elbows, watching the fight from an executive suite with the very same politicians seeking to grant CCRB this exact authority.
One active member of the NYPD and a PBA member stated “Hendry vowed to stop CCRB’s games and then goes behind his members backs and funds a candidate who will fuel CCRB’s fire, targeting cops with draconian punishments, frivolous trials and terminations”.
Bill S6062
Filed on March 5, 2025, the bill would:
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Give the CCRB concurrent jurisdiction with the NYPD commissioner over discipline.
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Allow the CCRB to impose penalties directly for misconduct including but not limited to unnecessary force, racial profiling, and false statements.
If the bill passes, it would take effect immediately and would give the CCRB “the teeth” they desire and claim will help further public safety.
No Comment
I reached out to PBA President Patrick Hendry via the PBA website and requested a comment in regard to Senator Parker’s bill, s6062 and the below items:
- A statement on why the PBA donated to Senator Parker in 2024
- Asked if the PBA asked Senator Parker to pull the Bill off of the docket an/or if they are also calling on him to resign ?
- Asked if the PBA is planning on donating to Senator Parker in the future ?
Hendry did NOT return a response although ample time was given.
Other NYPD Unions
A search of public records was conducted to see if any other NYPD unions (DEA, SBA, LBA, CEA) donated to Senator Kevin Parker which yielded negative results.
“Anti Cop”
Hendry Claims the CCRB Chair is “Anti Cop” and while many agree if we hold Senator Parker to those same standards that would mean he is also “Anti Cop”. Let us not forget that in 2005, Parker was arrested by the 67th Precinct, and charged with third degree assault for punching a New York City traffic agent in the face after Parker saw the traffic agent writing his car a traffic citation for double parking. If we were to hold that same standard towards the PBA and which candidates they decide to fund and endorse then by that standard the PBA could also be deemed “Anti-Cop”.
Conclusion
While I agree that the CCRB should NOT be given final disciplinary authority, and that it is important for NYPD Police unions to reach out to all sides of the political aisle, I believe they have ALL been proven to be inept at being in the political arena. We have seen donations to candidates who went on to vote or cheerlead others to defund the NYPD and then even after doing so, NYPD unions went on to again donate and endorse these same “Defund The Police” politicians.
Most recently the Detectives Endowment Association rescinded their endorsement of NYC Council member Kamillah Hanks over her support of the “How many stops act” only to turn around and endorse her reelection bid later on. Members of all unions both active and retired along with their families deserve better.
If the unions truly care about the effects CCRB is having on their members they would throw their support behind the only Mayoral candidate with a plan to revamp the CCRB into a agency that seeks the truth, rather than stick with the status quo, an agency with an agenda that is constantly accused of conducting reverse engineered investigations and one that dishes out biased board determinations. Curtis Sliwa has a plan to fix the 15 member CCRB board which can be accomplished on January 1st, 2026.
ALL unions to date remain silent about the Mayoral race after the candidate that was endorsed by All unions with the exception of the PBA, Eric Adams dropped his re-election bid.