Ben Tucker named NYPD First Deputy Commissioner

NEW YORK (WABC) -- NYPD Commissioner William Bratton has announced that Benjamin Tucker is his choice for the position of First Deputy Commissioner, the second highest ranking job in the department.

Tucker was recently brought in to be in charge of retraining the department's officers.

Tucker has a law degree and a decades-long history with the police department and city government.

The position was supposed to be filled by Chief of Department Philip Banks, but he abruptly resigned last week.

Bratton said one reason for that resignation was Bratton's decision to have another commander, the new chief of department, report directly to him, and not to Banks.

Bratton says he wants to remain involved in operational details.

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm here, I like it," said Bratton.

The announcement is as much about Bill Bratton as it is about his latest choice for the number 2 position in the NYPD, a job that was supposed to go to Banks until he resigned, raising serious questions about dissension among NYPD brass, the relationship between the police commissioner and City Hall, and about whether Banks' departure had left a void in community relations.

Enter Benjamin Tucker, the 63-year old NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Training now tapped for the job which Banks refused.

Tucker joined the NYPD back in 1969, served in three different precincts, and worked in the Clinton and Obama Administrations.

When Banks resigned, there were questions about whether Bratton's number two would have enough authority, which Bratton tried to clear up Wednesday. "So the idea that there's a figurehead, that's a figment of your imagination," Bratton said.

Instead, he insisted Tucker would influence many things, from the budget, to police discipline, to training on the use of force.

"In how to think about, and think through when to engage, and how to engage," said Tucker.

And while some of the commissioner's biggest critics say it won't matter who his number two is, until New York City changes its culture of policing.

"Disproportionately affects communities of color, criminalizes them, puts them into tense reactions with police officers, as people saw with the Eric Garner incident," said Josmar Trojillo of New Yorkers Against Bratton.

Others remain cautiously optimistic, willing to wait and see.

"You can't solve a problem of this magnitude systemically in 11-12 months but you should be able to know the direction that we're going in, and I think that's where the concern was," said City Councilman Jumaane Williams.

Mayor Bill de Blasio held a separate news conference, trying to convey that he has faith in both men.

"I've gotten to know Ben Tucker over the past year, I've been singularly impressed by him. He's an intelligent, visionary leader," said de Blasio.

"We salute the appointment of Benjamin Tucker as 1st Deputy Commissioner," PBA president Patrick J. Lynch said. "He grew up in Brooklyn and has long been a part of the NYPD family. We wish him great success in the real challenges that lie ahead."