Blaz: Didn’t run chief out of gig
Mayor de Blasio denied reports that his pestering of NYPD Chief of Patrol Fausto Pichardo led to the officer’s surprise resignation, claiming that Pichardo’s departure was simply “a decision based on personal and family factors.”
“Chief Fausto Pichardo has done a fantastic job,” Hizzoner said at a Wednesday press conference. “We all tried to convince him to stay, but it was a personal decision.”
De Blasio rejected accounts that Pichardo resigned because the mayor micromanaged him throughout recent months of unrest and gave him a tongue-lashing when he missed a phone call following a 36-hour-long shift.
“The information that’s been put out just isn’t accurate,” de Blasio told reporters.
Pichardo, 43, didn’t provide any explanation for his move in a tweet.
“As I officially announce my retirement, I want to thank all of the men and women of the NYPD for the remarkable work that you do day in and day out for all New Yorkers,” he wrote. “Every interaction that you have is an opportunity to forge a greater bond with those we serve.”
“Thank you to @NYPDShea and @NYCMayor for always trusting and supporting me while serving in this role,” Pichardo added.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said earlier Wednesday he was “surprised” by Pichardo’s sudden resignation.
“It would be putting it mildly that I was surprised that he’s leaving because of just how respected he is. What a bright future he has, no matter what he does,” Shea said on PIX 11. “Fausto is an NYPD success story.”
Pichardo — the NYPD’s first officer of Dominican descent to become chief of patrol — put in his retirement papers on Tuesday and plans to leave the department in 30 days.
“I’m torn because I’m happy for him if this is what he chooses to do,” Shea said, calling Pichardo’s departure “bittersweet.”
“He came on the job as a cadet, rose through the ranks very rapidly and has really excelled at every job he’s ever held,” Shea said. “That’s what we’re grappling with right now. But we have a deep bench, and we’ll put the call out and it will be the next man or next woman up.”
Pichardo’s decision to leave came after weeks of friction with de Blasio over the city’s George Floyd protests, sources said. The mayor constantly called and texted Pichardo, to the point where he felt he was being treated like a scapegoat, according to sources.
The tipping point came after last week’s COVID-19 protests in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Pichardo worked 36 hours straight on Wednesday and Thursday, then went home to fall asleep and missed a call from the mayor, sources said.
When he woke up, he returned the call, but de Blasio summoned him to City Hall on Friday to chastise him for not answering the phone, the sources said. One source said Pichardo’s phone had been on the fritz and that he had brought it in for repairs before the mayor called.
Late Saturday night, the mayor peppered Pichardo with texts about a block party in the Bronx. Pichardo became frustrated enough to file his retirement papers, the sources said.
The mayor has a history of contacting NYPD chiefs directly. In 2014, he went around then-Commissioner Bill Bratton to call NYPD Deputy Chief Kim Royster about the arrest of his political ally Bishop Orlando Findlayter.
On Wednesday, Shea didn’t appear bothered with the mayor’s penchant for reaching out to his staff without going to him first.
“This is the Police Department of the mayor,” Shea said. “The mayor is free to reach out and talk to people obviously whenever he sees fit.”
Pichardo was named chief of patrol in December, after serving as No. 2 for Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison when Harrison held the chief of patrol job.
Police unions decried the handling of Pichardo as “political games.”
“Our top talent in all ranks is being driven out the door, and public safety is suffering,” Patrick Lynch, head of the Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement. “City Hall’s amateur-hour meddling has left the NYPD broken, almost beyond repair.
Sergeants union head Ed Mullins told The News: “It’s sad in a time we’re trying to establish relations with minorities, we have the highest-ranking Hispanic quit.
“I’m shocked that he’s gone” he added.