City Council leaders grilled the NYPD Thursday over “dangerous, unethical, unprofessional” social media posts by top officials — as well as $168 million in unplanned overtime costs from policing raging anti-Israel protests and migrant shelters.
The heated proceedings played out after the city Department of Investigation opened a probe into posts by department brass at the request of Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and the Legal Aid Society.
“These posts can often convey inaccurate or misleading information and could potentially incite threats of violence,” Adams, no relation to Mayor Eric Adams, said.
“This conduct is dangerous, unethical, unprofessional because included in the department’s mission is to preserve peace, protect the people and reduce fear at the preliminary budget.”
The posts at issue include NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell’s controversial jab at Queens Councilwoman Tiffany Caban calling her online criticism of the department “garbage.”
The council speaker said Chell’s since-deleted retort to Caban’s critique of a city agency was potentially “a horrifying affront to democracy” that could “be misinterpreted and lead to threats.”
The NYPD has more than 250 social media accounts that department higher-ups, including precinct commanders, have control of — which the council said are intended to inform the public, not inflame tensions with elected officials.
Chell and other department brass have used the online platform as a weapon to fight back against perceived anti-cop policies pushed by the council, including the controversial “How Many Stops” initiative that bogged cops down in excessive paperwork.
“I started to read this garbage and quickly realized this is coming from a person who hates our city and certainly does not represent the great people of NYC,” Chell wrote in his missive about Caban, who had criticized the NYPD’s response to anti-Israeli demonstrators on the Columbia University campus, when cops in riot gear cleared students and arrested more than 100.
“Last night’s authoritarian conduct by Columbia University administrators and Mayor Adams’ NYPD were a colossal disgrace, a horrifying affront to democracy and free speech,” Caban’s post on X read. “And an abject failure of public safety.”
Adams interrogated NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Legal Matters Michael Gerber about Chell’s response during a blistering back-and-forth at the council budget hearing.
“Do you feel the post was appropriate?” she asked.
Gerber repeatedly noted it was “critical” that the DOI probe into the posts be allowed to play out, and said the department was being “fully cooperative” with the investigation.
“Do you feel the post was appropriate?” Adams pressed.
“I’m gonna be the arbitrator of discipline,” Gerber answered. “So at this time, I cannot comment.”
Adams also took the department to task over the NYPD overtime tab.
As of March, the department spent about $788 million in overtime during the 2024 fiscal year — almost $271 million over budget, the council leader said.
“Repeated overspending beyond the allocated budget raises concerns about agency and fiscal management and accurate budgeting,” Adams said.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban said NYPD spending was down 8% from pre-pandemic years, and attributed $160 million in additional overtime primarily to “migrant shelter security, enhanced translation and deployment of protests.”
“These are unprecedented events, which no one could have planned for,” the top cop said. “And as a result, spending for these activities is outside of our adopted financial plan baseline.”
