FDNY leaders apologize after Letitia James booed during promotion ceremony in Brooklyn
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The FDNY is disappointed and embarrassed after New York Attorney General Letitia James faced boos and chants about Trump as she delivered a speech last week.
It happened during a promotion ceremony at the Christian Cultural Center in Brooklyn last Thursday.
As James walked up to the podium, some people in the crowd clapped and others booed. The booing grew louder, prompting James to address the matter before beginning her official remarks.
"Oh, come on. We're in our house of God," James said to the crowd.
In the days since, top FDNY officials have apologized to James and held calls and meetings with members who were at the promotions ceremony.
"The members whose behavior distracted from that celebration were an embarrassment and not befitting of the world's best fire department," FDNY Chief Of Department John Hodgens said.
Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, along with the chief and other staff members, met on Friday to continue the conversations in terms of how to improve the department.
The commissioner and the chief also met with James and expressed their concerns for the activities that took place at the ceremony and extended an apology on behalf of the department.
Kavanagh was also at the Christian Cultural Center on Sunday and addressed the congregation to issue an apology, saying "we disappointed this church who has given us so much over the years."
"We have decades of training and discipline that none of us want to see tarnished by the unprofessional behavior of a few," Kavanagh said.
FDNY officials believe all of their interactions the past few days have been productive.
James is a frequent target of the former president's wrath. It was her investigation into his decades of fraud that led to hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties for Trump.
As to the investigation into Trump supporters in the crowd heckling the Attorney General, FDNY Spokesman Jim Long issued the following statement: "Nobody is hunting anyone down. We're looking into those who clearly broke department regulations. It has nothing to do with politics. It's about professionalism at an official event held in a house of worship."
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