Bratton’s Bombshell

P olice Commissioner Bill Bratton’s announcement that he could step down as soon as next year should have all New Yorkers worried.

Bratton’s been able to address concerns that the NYPD had grown too intrusive, while still keeping crime headed down. We have enormous respect for Chief of Department James O’Neill and some possible Bratton successors — but it’s not clear any would have the political skill and the professional stature to pull off the same balancing act.

“I do not intend to stay into a [possible de Blasio] second term,” Bratton said Monday. He even held out the possibility of quitting before the mayor’s term ends next year.

Sensitive to his duty to his boss, Bratton has always praised the mayor for giving him full support — even when that was transparently untrue, as when de Blasio gave Al Sharpton equal status to the commissioner at a high-profile roundtable after Eric Garner’s death two years ago.

But Bratton’s never let politics stop him from defending his police and their duty to enforce the law. He’s blasted Black Lives Matter for calling cops “racists” and “coldblooded killers” — even as the mayor defended the movement as “a force for good.”

Perhaps he’s tired of plugging the political dam. The City Council is constantly looking to pass new measures to restrict the cops — such as this month’s push to pass the Right To Know Act. Bratton’s managed to hold off the worst — but the cop-bashers keep proposing new handcuffs.

The mayor knows that keeping crime down is vital to his hopes of re-election. But if Bratton leaves early, de Blasio might still opt for a more politically correct replacement — especially if he’s facing a tough primary challenge. After all, he won last time by exploiting anti-cop fervor.

Bill Bratton stepped in and kept the peace anyway. We can only pray the next NYPD boss can do as well.