SHOT FROM LIP
Mayor de Blasio said on Friday that while he won’t second-guess a judge’s ruling, the schizophrenic Bronx woman shot dead by a police sergeant while she was wielding a baseball bat “should never have died.”
Speaking on WNYC radio, the mayor wouldn’t question the decision that cleared Sgt. Hugh Barry this week and pointed out that the cop still faces NYPD disciplinary procedures.
“The central point here is we respect the court system,” the mayor said. “But underneath all that, here’s an essential fact: Deborah Danner should not have died. She should still be with us.”
State Supreme Court Justice Robert Neary acquitted Barry on murder and other charges in the October 2016 shooting death after the sergeant testified he feared for his life when the 66year-old woman hoisted the bat.
When radio host Brian Lehrer followed up and asked the mayor whether “a crime of any kind had been committed,” de Blasio wouldn’t bite.
“Again I’m consistent of this — I don’t critique judicial decisions,” he said.
In the days immediately after the shooting, de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill came under intense criticism from police representatives for what the unions said was a rush to judgment in the case.
Hizzoner called the shooting “tragic” and “unacceptable” at the time, and O’Neill said the NYPD had “failed” Danner.
After the court ruling, sergeants union president Ed Mullins called on both officials to apologize for those comments.
On Friday, Mullins pointed to other comments de Blasio made to WNYC concerning the training of officers for dealing with people with mental illness as proof the city was acknowledging fault in the case.
The mayor said that 8,000 officers had been trained in de-escalation techniques, with the goal of getting the number up to 22,000 officers.
He also said the city would be doing a lot more training to help officers deal with emotionally disturbed people.
“Finally, the mayor is taking re- sponsibility for the failed mental-health system in NYC and the lack of mental-health training provided to the members of the NYPD,” Mullins told The Post.
“I commend him for acknowledging this shortfall and the impact it had on a system that didn’t treat Deborah Danner’s illness.”
The mayor said the Police Department’s disciplinary process for Barry was launched as soon as his court trial was concluded. But he wouldn’t express any preference for any particular outcome from that review.
“I want that process to go forward and reach the right conclusion according to those who make the judgment — ultimately the police commissioner,” de Blasio said.