BROOKLYN — An undercover officer wore a pro-gun T-shirt that promoted “thoughts of violence” before going on duty in East New York last August, City Councilwoman Inez Barron said.
The officer wore the shirt, which has the numbers of different caliber guns on the left side and reads “All Faster Than Dialing 911,” in front of Police Service Area 2 on Sutter Avenue, according to Barron.
“This is a message of disrespect to our community,” Barron said at a City Hall budget hearing after listening to testimony by Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. “And that [commanding officers] over you would not say, ‘Wait, that’s not appropriate, put on something else.’”
Bratton at first said he was unaware of the incident, but after finishing his testimony he told reporters that Housing Chief James Secreto was aware of the incident and had offered to arrange a meeting between Barron and the officer back in August.
“My understanding, according to Chief Secreto, was there was an opportunity offered to her to meet with the officer and discuss her concerns with him, as part of the mediation,” Bratton said. “Why she chose to bring it up at this hearing you’ll have to go ask her.”
Bratton said that the officer’s commander also spoke to him about the incident in August, adding it was “not necessarily something that needed to rise to my level.”
