Ex-NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly releases memoir, blames de Blasio for increase in murders
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has released a memoir called "Vigilance," and it packs some harsh judgments.
Kelly blames Mayor Bill de Blasio for the current rise in killings. Murders in the city are up 8 percent since the start of the year.
"Murders are up," he said in an interview in conjunction with the release of the memoir. "And if you have a propensity to carry a gun and there's a policy to de-emphasize stop and question and frisk, it's only common sense you'll see more people carrying guns and more crime."
Kelly also rips into the court decision to restrict the police department's stop and frisk program.
"The tone of the city is set at the top," said Kelly. "And what is that tone?", we asked. "Anti-police," he said.
Kelly says the city is slipping. In an Eyewitness News interview, he blames de Blasio for taking the wrong approach on crime and policing.
"When the Bloomberg Administration left office, we had record low crime, record low murders, record low shootings, and record low shootings by police officers," said Kelly.
What's changed, he claims, is that police officers no longer feel empowered. And Kelly insists that the dramatic, 90 percent drop in stop and frisks, is sending the wrong message.
"People who may have a propensity to carry a gun will decide to carry the gun," said Kelly. "And that's making the city less safe?," we asked. "Arguably, yes," he said.
"Let's get it straight, the city is safer than it's ever been," Kelly's successor William Bratton said Tuesday, defending his strategy.
"When we had more stop question and frisk, we had more crime," said Bratton. "We now have less stop, question and frisk, and we have less crime."
Kelly makes the case for stop and frisk in his new memoir, a look back on his two terms as commissioner, securing the city after 9/11, and his childhood, when he and his buddy were mugged in Central Park.
"We were walking in the park, we were grabbed by a gang that held us and took our shoes," he said. "I think it sort of sensitized me to what being a victim is all about."
Kelly says his legacy is a safer city, one his successors insist they're improving on.
The book, written with Newsday columnist Ellis Henican, was released on Tuesday by Hachette Books.
Watch more of N.J. Burkett's interview with former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly:
