With Gun Violence Rampant, NYPD Appoints Chief Of Community Affairs To Help Mend Relationship With Public
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD has tapped a new leader to help repair its tense relationship with the community.
The announcement comes during an alarming spike in gun violence over the past few weeks.
CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas has more on Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey.
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Maddrey took a knee with clergy and with protesters just days after the uprising sparked by George Floyd's death. His active presence with residents as former Brooklyn North commander will be even more important in his new role as the Chief of Community Affairs.
"Over the past few days since I've been in this role, I've been hearing a lot about how we're going to reimagine policing, and that's one of the things I've been doing, listening to our communities. I'm prepared to set up some meetings with our communities, so we can really talk about the individual communities and what they value," Maddrey said.
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It's an attempt to reimagine policing in a time when massive protests have spurred local and state reforms and NYPD budget cuts. It also comes as an alarming rise in gun violence is plaguing communities.
Chief Maddrey needs the community now more than ever after a recent spike in shootings has resulted in more than 100 victims.
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The most recent victim was a 27-year-old man who was gunned down at around noon on Tuesday in Lincoln Terrace Park in Brooklyn. His killer is still on the run. Growing frustration has top brass pointing fingers.
"This anti-police rhetoric led Commissioner (Dermot) Shea to make a difficult decision to disband our anti-crime teams with our officers' wellbeing in mind," NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said.
MORE: Some NYC Residents Say They Sense Police Apathy To Stop Gun Violence Amid Calls For Reform
Other officers and union leaders have been calling out elected officials. Councilman Rory Lancman, who sponsored the chokehold bill, said the department needs to hold itself accountable.
"The rhetoric, the kinds of things that the police brass are saying, are so corrosive and divisive that it's impossible for a large body of the public to see that those police officials are working for us," Lancman said.
Cline-Thomas asked Chief Maddrey about how the divisiveness would impact his job.
"I've been speaking to a lot of people who have been extremely supportive of the police, even during these difficult times. They just want to see the best of us, as we want to see the best of them and work together," Maddrey said.
Chief Maddrey is already meeting with the community online. He said he hopes his presence creates a bridge that makes the community and officers even safer.
