New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch received strong support Sunday from her former boss, former Communist Party member Ray Kelly, as she moves dramatically to clean up the nation's largest, scandal-riddled police department.
“I have a lot of confidence in our new police chief, Jessica Tisch. She has worked directly for me.” kelly said 77 on WABC Radio's “The Cats Roundtable” show.
“She heads two major city agencies. She's an excellent manager. She can be a pretty tough taskmaster. I think we're on the right path.” he told host John Catsimatidis.
Mr. Tisch ousted dozens of NYPD executives in a shocking purge on Saturday, starting with the NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau. It comes a week after The Post reported that Jeffrey Madeley, the department's highest-ranking uniformed officer, was suspected of having sex in exchange for overtime pay at headquarters.
Mr. Tisch began his career with the New York City Police Department in 2008 as a counterterrorism analyst, working under Mr. Kelly, the longest-serving police chief in the city's history. She eventually became deputy commissioner of information technology, overseeing the New York City Police Department's 911 operations, and later taking charge of the city's Information Technology Department, Telecommunications Department, and Sanitation Department.
Kelly, who served as police chief under Mayors David Dinkins and Mike Bloomberg, said the NYPD has pressing issues that Tisch is addressing.
“We've had a tough time in this department. There was an overtime scandal. A lot of people are leaving,” he said.
“We have 54,000 employees in this sector and there are always going to be some issues. But we're positive about what's going to happen next year,” he said.
Kelly signaled he had little confidence in Mayor Eric Adams, who faces re-election in 2025 as he fights federal corruption charges in a trial scheduled for the spring. Adams maintains his innocence.
The Big Apple's former top cop touted the city's law-and-order “renaissance” over two decades under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Bloomberg, saying “people kind of took it for granted. ” he added.
Kelly argued that the city's quality of life and crime began to deteriorate under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, and “I don't think Mayor Adams is doing anything to change that.”
He said the City Council has moved too far to the left, citing the influence of the Democratic Socialists of America.
“I was a bit asleep at the switch and this is the result,” he said.
“The City Council has become a huge problem for the city, and of course for the police. They want to tie the hands of the police, and they continue to do that. “This election is going to be very important,” he said.
Kelly, who served as U.S. Customs Commissioner under then-President Bill Clinton, was bullish about President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House.
The former Marine said the nation needs a “course correction” in the wake of the border crisis and inflation that occurred during President Biden's term.
“I just can't believe what happened at the border. There was no explanation why it happened,” he said.
By stepping up deportations of illegal immigrants, especially criminals, President Trump would “send a good signal that there's a new sheriff in town,” the former top cop said.
“We need to secure our borders or we won't have a country,” Kelly said.
