NYPD sergeants’ union office raided, leader quits

Ex-president Mullins appears to be probe’s target

Federal investigators on Tuesday raided the Manhattan office of one of New York City’s main police unions in connection with a continuing investigation, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

In a statement late Tuesday, the union, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, acknowledged the search and said that its president, Edward D. Mullins, was “apparently the target of the federal investigation.”

The union, which describes itself as the fifthlargest police union in the United States, added in the statement that “given the severity of this matter and the uncertainty of its outcome,” its executive board had asked Mullins to resign and that he had complied.

The union represents about 13,000 active and retired police sergeants in New York. Its headquarters were searched as part of an investigation by the FBI and the public corruption unit in the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, the people with knowledge of the matter said.

Investigators also executed a search warrant at Mullins’ Long Island home, a spokesperson with the FBI field office in New York said.

In its statement, the union said it had “no reason to believe that any other member” was “involved or targeted in this matter.” The union’s assertion could not immediately be verified and the precise focus and scope of the investigation could not be determined.

The FBI spokesperson, Adrienne Senatore, said only that agents “were conducting a law enforcement operation pursuant to an ongoing investigation” at the union’s offices and Mullins’ home. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.

Federal agents spent hours inside the union’s headquarters, where they lowered dark wooden blinds and placed pieces of cardboard inside windows to prevent the public from gazing in.

Agents carried at least 11 large cardboard boxes and a black trash bag out of the offices. The contents were unknown, though inside one box were at least two folders labeled “evidence” and what appeared to be a large computer hard drive.

Neither Mullins, an outspoken figure who has run the union since 2002, nor the union’s lawyer, Andrew C. Quinn, responded to messages seeking comment about the raid, which was reported earlier by The New York Daily News.

Although the organization he leads is significantly smaller than the Police Benevolent Association, the nation’s largest police union, Mullins has received outsized attention over the years, thanks in part to his bluster and willingness to engage in online provocation.

He has made brash and incendiary remarks on Twitter about Mayor Bill de Blasio and other local officials, declaring war on the mayor last year after two officers were shot and accusing de Blasio of promoting anti-police attitudes.

Mullins is being brought up for department discipline over other posts on Twitter, including for sharing a police report documenting the arrest of de Blasio’s daughter, Chiara, during protests over police brutality and racial justice in New York last year. The Police Department does not typically release internal reports, and the one that Mullins shared contained personal information about Chiara de Blasio.

A hearing on the charges started last month but was postponed after one of Mullins’ lawyers had a medical issue. The Police Department’s disciplinary trial calendar shows another hearing set for Oct. 27.

Mullins’ lawyer, Quinn, has defended his conduct as free speech and as part of his obligation to advocate on behalf of the union’s members.

The mayor declined to comment on the raid at a news conference Tuesday, saying he did not know any details, but he said that Mullins had long been a “divisive voice” whose behavior had been “destructive.”

The departmental charges against Mullins also stem from tweets in which he used profane language against Dr. Oxiris Barbot, the ex-city health commissioner, and Rep. Ritchie Torres, Dbronx.

Torres tweeted Tuesday that Mullins had received a “first-class raid” from the FBI.

Mullins, who grew up in Greenwich Village, joined the Police Department in 1982 and spent the early

years of his career in the 13th Precinct, which covers the Flatiron and Gramercy neighborhoods in Manhattan. He was promoted to sergeant in 1993.

After first winning election in 2002, Mullins is now serving his fifth term as president. Over that time, his union has become a forceful opponent against police reform efforts.

In a city where Democrats significantly outnumber Republicans, Mullins has drawn scrutiny for his outspoken rightwing politics. Both the sergeants’ union and its larger sister union, the Police Benevolent Association, have been run mostly by conservatives whose views are not widely shared by many in the metropolis they police.

Little was known late Tuesday about his business dealings outside the police union. Records show he was affiliated with at least one private company, K-9 Night Watch Inc., which appeared to be based out of his home.