Mayor Bloomberg Blasts Use Of 'Jihad' Movie During NYPD Training
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg says police used terrible judgment when they showed a film about Muslims during counter-terrorism training seminars.
Bloomberg said Tuesday that police had stopped showing the movie, "The Third Jihad." It discusses extremists and their plans for establishing an Islamic regime.
"It was not done at the police department as reported. It was done some place else and as soon as they found out, they stopped it and took it down. Somebody exercised some terrible judgment, I don't know who. We'll find out," Bloomberg said Tuesday.
Police documents obtained by a think tank at New York University say the movie was shown on a continuous loop while officers were signing in for counter-terrorism training in late 2010. Nearly 1,500 officers may have seen the movie. Police originally said only a few officers had seen it.
Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said Tuesday that the video was never authorized by the NYPD. "It was never used in training sessions. It was never shown at the Police Academy and it was never used in training classes in the Brooklyn location where it had been put on a loop on a TV, in a room which officers used to fill in paperwork during down time. As soon as an officer complained about it, it was removed. A sergeant who obtained it and put it on the TV loop was reprimanded for its unauthorized use."
Brown also issued the following statement in response to a New York Times reporter's inquiry (Sunday) in regard to the story that appeared today:
"In late January last year I received an inquiry whether the film "The Third Jihad" was used in NYPD training. I checked with the Police Academy and determined it was not. But when I heard a police officer had reported seeing at least portions of it at a Brooklyn facility where officers received COBRA training in dealing with chemical, biological and radiological weapons, I double-checked and found that, although unauthorized and not part of the curriculum, the video has been shown on a loop "a couple of times" during down time when officers were filling out paper work or on a break from actual training.
As a result of my inquiry to the Police Academy, the matter was subsequently pursued further, and a couple of months later, it was determined that the film had actually been shown in the loop fashion I described during breaks over a period of three months, and almost 1,500 of the approximately 12,000 who received COBRA training there that year would have had the opportunity to see at least part of it as they filled out paperwork or were on break from training.
It was discontinued in December 2010 after an officer complained about it. It was not shown at the Police Academy in Manhattan where tens of thousands of officers cycle through for training The video was reportedly obtained by an officer from a DHS contractor. Clips of prominent individuals, including Commissioner Kelly, apparently taken from news interviews, were included in the video. There's no plan to contact officers who saw it or add other programming as a result."
Share your thoughts in the comments section below...
(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
