*Newly-elected New York City mayor, Eric Adams, is already catching heat for claiming white supremacy is the reason behind his decision to appoint his younger brother as a deputy police commissioner.
As reported by MSN, Adams tapped retired NYPD sergeant Bernard Adams for the job that comes with an annual salary of $242,000.
Speaking about the high-profile NYPD gig on CNN’s State of the Union, anchor Jake Tapper asked Adams: “Is that true and if so, doesn’t that at least violate the spirit of the law in New York which says public servants’ friends and family members should not benefit from their positions?”
“Well, we have something here in the city called [the] Conflict of Interest Board,” the mayor replied. “They do rulings and waivers, it’s going through that process now. They will make the determination and we have a great system here in the city.”
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Adams added: “Let me be clear on this. My brother is qualified for the position, number one. He will be in charge of my security, which is extremely important to me in a time where we see an increase in white supremacy and hate crimes.”
He went on to say that his brother “has a community affairs background, the balance that I need,” Adams explained.
“He understands law enforcement. He was a 20-year retired veteran from the police department, and I need someone that I trust around me during these times for my security, and I trust my brother deeply.”
Elsewhere in his conversation with Tapper, Adams also discussed the controversial appointment of former NYPD chief Philip Banks as deputy mayor.
“I’m sure you know, he was named an un-indicted co-conspirator in a federal corruption probe and resigned in 2014 after being accused of accepting bribes in return for favors,” said Tapper . “We should note he denies that vociferously. But are you worried at all about the message you’re sending by appointing someone with that record to be your number two?”
Adams acknowledged that “there were some real mistakes and errors” made by Banks but noted that he wasn’t “accused of a crime.”
The mayor said Banks is the best person to take on the rising violence and crime in the city.
“It really personifies why I need the best person for the job,” Adams proclaimed. “I can’t leave bad people doing bad things to good people on the bench when I have a talented person that just made some bad calculations, bad decisions. He didn’t do anything that was criminal. Phil is a great person.”
He concluded: “Leaving that talent on the bench is the wrong thing to do. He’s the right person for this time to really bring together all of my law enforcement agencies and entities and he’s going to show New York this every day. He’s the right person for this job and I’m excited about having him on the team.”
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