To say the NYPD brass probably wishes this week never happened is putting it mildly. Between FBI raids and attempts to prevent the media from talking to anyone associated with the NYPD, including the various unions, let’s just say there are lots of questions–and even more demands–swirling around. Questions about corruption, cover up, and freedom of the press are sounding from all directions. In response, we hear crickets or, worse, verbal two-steps from those sworn to not only uphold the law but to protect those living in NYC.

This started (restarted?) Wednesday and Thursday when the FBI executed a series of raids in the NYC area. The homes of First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks were raided and searched as part of an “ongoing investigation”. During those searches, agents removed evidence, including electronics, from both homes.

Four high-ranking NYPD officials, including [New York Police Commissioner Edward] Caban, received subpoenas for their cell phones. Three others in the NYPD received similar subpoenas. All complied and turned over their phones, according to sources.

According to those same sources, these subpoenas are related to the same investigation that brought about the raids at Wright’s and Banks’ homes.

But it gets better. This isn’t the first time the Feds have taken a look at Banks. In 2014, during another corruption investigation into the NYPD, Banks was listed as an unindicted co-conspirator. Admittedly, he was never charged but he did resign his then-current position as “chief of department, the highest ranking uniformed position.”

According to the Intelligencer, there are two investigations going on into influence peddling.

Early Wednesday morning, federal agents fanned out across the city with search warrants and subpoenas, seizing electronic devices belonging to Sheena Wright, the first deputy mayor; her fiance David Banks, the schools chancellor; Phil Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety; their brother Terence Banks, a consultant; and Tim Pearson, a mayoral adviser with significant influence within City Hall. The Feds also seized devices belonging to Edward Caban, the police commissioner; Caban’s brother, James; Caban’s chief of staff; and some precinct commanders in Manhattan.

Honestly, the more thatcomes out about the investigation and the people involved, the more it sounds like a bad Hollywood movie (if made today) or a really good noir movie from Hollywood’s heyday. You have cops and nightclubs. Twin brothers, one with a “checkered” past and who is a former cop and one who is the police commissioner. High-level politicians who may or may not be “in on” the alleged corruption. The mayor who is doing his best impression of the side-stepping governor in “The Best Little Whorehouse” in order to not have to make a meaningful statement about what’s happening or the behavior of his senior brass in the NYPD.

But it gets better.

Instead of doing everything it can to keep the media on its side, the NYPD–with assistance from the Mayor’s Office–has performed a perfect example of how not to behave in the middle of a public relations crisis. It started in 2023 when the Mayor’s Office decided it would be a good thing to oust the media from 1 Police Plaza and banish them to a trailer parked outside. Now, on the surface, that doesn’t seem bad. Right? Here’s the thing though. When even Vanity Fair raises questions about the move and the reasons behind it, you have to wonder if this isn’t a case of where’s there’s smoke, there’s fire. Why did the NYPD suddenly decide to banish reporters from “the warren”, the set of offices set aside for media for years? Why were they not given more warning of the upcoming move than a few days? If it looks like an attempt to distance the media from easy access to not just sources but to confirmation of facts, you probably aren’t wrong.

Against that background, NYPD brass decided this week to double-down and see just how badly they could muck up the PR image of the department.

Thursday, after the FBI raids, someone made the call to oust two reporters for doing their jobs. The reporters, Tina Moore from the NY Post and Maria Cramer from the NYTimes, aren’t simple beat reporters. They are the police bureau chiefs for their papers. Their crime? They contacted the “police unions for assistance in interviewing department employees.” They were forced to take this route because the NYPD’s newest set of rules for the media requires them to work through a single office at NYPD, an office that isn’t the most responsive to their requests. Oh, and by the way, one of the requests was to speak to someone about the upcoming 9/11 commemoration.

The actions of certain members of NYPD brass, not to mention NYC politicians, serves no purpose except to bring disdain on the NYPD. It puts the rank and file in even more danger than they face every time they put on their blues and step into the public to perform a duty most of us would run from. Those actions are causing even more turmoil within the rank and file of the NYPD.

Should the media be held responsible for misleading information about crime and police actions, especially if that information paints the NYPD in a negative light? Of course. But the media also has a duty to shine a light on the government and on the NYPD if there is wrongdoing going on.

There must be transparency in the NYPD and every other police department, just as there must be transparency in government. The actions taken by Commissioner Caban and his followers, not to mention by certain NYC politicians, shows they aren’t concerned about reassuring the public and letting it know the law applies to their offices as much as it does to the regular Joe on the street. If anything, it looks like they are doing their best to cover up whatever is going on.

That’s not a good look for the NYPD or for a city (and state) already dealing with too many scandals. Let’s face it, New York has had a very bad couple of weeks. We can’t forget the charges against the former aide to both  Gov. Kathy Hochul and former-Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The feds have charged Linda Sun with acting as an agent of the Chinese government. Oops.

Dorothy Parker once said, “London is satisfied, Paris is resigned, but New York is always hopeful. Always it believes that something good is about to come off, and it must hurry to meet it.” Unfortunately, one has to wonder if that’s still the case, especially when you have people in power who appear to be doing their best to avoid accountability, transparency, and responsibility.

Featured image created by Amanda S. Green, using Dall-E.