The NYPD said a top official’s social media post attacking a judge was a clear-eyed appraisal of the criminal justice system that New Yorkers should expect more of in the future.
A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said Chief of Patrol John Chell was countering “misinformation” with “facts.” NYPD spokesperson Tarik Sheppard said officials were using a new tactic to hold people accountable, including journalists and critics who “haven’t done their homework.”
But the NYPD apparently didn’t do its homework either.
Writing on the social media platform X, Chell criticized Acting Supreme Court Justice J. Machelle Sweeting for allegedly releasing someone with numerous prior arrests and convictions back out onto the streets without bail. He praised Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for “doing his job” in asking for bail. His post was shared by three top NYPD officials, including a deputy commissioner.
Neither Bragg nor Sweeting was involved in the case, said courts spokesperson Al Baker.
“The recent social media posts from NYPD officials criticizing a recent bail decision not only indicated that the crime allegedly took place in the wrong county, it also named a judge that did not preside over the case,” Baker said in a statement on Thursday night.
The turn of events came after legal experts and elected officials sharply criticized the statements for being inappropriate and posing a danger to judges. It follows recent police claims about the migrant crisis that were not supported by data. The NYPD has become increasingly assertive on social media, most recently deriding a freelance journalist who has criticized aggressive police interactions with protesters.
Adams defended the errant social media post on Friday while seemingly also contradicting what the NYPD said.
“The goal is not to call out a judge for doing his job,” he told 1010WINS, though that was police officials’ stated goal.
He said police are frustrated at seeing the release of people…
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