Mayor Bill de Blasio lashed out at The Post for reporting that he muzzled officials from the NYPD and Civilian Complaint Review Board from testifying on a planned repeal of a records law — and claimed he “didn’t know about” the hearing.
Yet The Post reached out to his top press person multiple times yesterday, and a source said his office made the call to have the head of the CCCRB and the NYPD’s No. 2 cop skip out on their scheduled appearance.
CCRB Chair Fred Davie has never taken a public position on 50-a, the section the of the state Civil Rights Law that blocks public access to government records used to evaluate the performance of cops. Police Commissioner James O’Neill has said he favors putting cops’ disciplinary records online while withholding information when “the facts are not fully known” or when it poses a “risk to officer safety.”
When de Blasio was asked about The Post report on WNYC Friday he said it wasn’t true — then went off on a tirade against the country’s longest continually published newspaper.
“It’s not a fact based publication, it just isn’t. It’s an ideological publication that will say anything they want all the time and you’ll notice one of the reasons I’m right is they don’t ask for the opposing view … as most journalists do,” de Blasio huffed.
The Post asked two of de Blasio’s press secretaries, Freddi Goldstein and Olivia Lapeyrolerie, for comment on the story three times Thursday.
“No comment from us,” de Blasio’s press secretary Freddi Goldstein responded in a 6:18 p.m. text message Thursday.
When WNYC host Brian Lehrer suggested that other reporters follow up on The Post report, de Blasio insisted they wouldn’t find anything.
“I’d love to find the person who could prove I knew about something I did not know about and I took an action I didn’t take,” he said.
Lapeyrolerie told The Post Friday that “the mayor was not involved in any decisions about whether to testify at the State Senate hearing.” She did not respond to questions asking if anyone from the mayor’s office was involved or why the NYPD and the CCRB pulled out from testifying at the 11th hour Thursday.
“Unfortunately just prior to the hearing I was informed that the CCRB nor the NYPD will be testifying today, and, and I am disappointed by that, state Sen. Jamaal Bailey (D-Bronx) said at the start of Thursday’s proceeding.
Bailey’s spokesman, Jason Laidley, said they learned Wednesday evening that “it was unlikely the NYPD will be testifying- but they would still try to make it.” They were informed Thursday morning that the CCRB wasn’t going to participate, Laidley said. They weren’t given any reason for their absences, he added.
A police spokesman told The Post NYPD officials didn’t testify because they’ve “made their position on supporting reforms to 50-a clear and maintain that it remains important to increase transparency and accountability in policing.”
A rep for the CCRB did not respond to a request for comment.
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