William Bratton under fire for comments about hiring black police NYPD officers

NEW YORK (WABC) -- NYPD Commissioner William Bratton is under fire Wednesday for saying that he cannot hire enough qualified black officers because they are too hard to find, but he contends the publication took his comments out of context.

Bratton gave an interview to the British paper The Guardian, which quoted him saying "We have a significant population gap among African-American males because so many of them have spent time in jail and, as such, we can't hire them."

He insists he wants to hire more black cops and that there are plenty of qualified candidates, but he says there should be more and that the truth remains that too many black men have criminal records, and it's a problem society has to tackle.

"As skilled reporters, you'll understand what The Guardian did," he said.

Bratton spent much of the day clarifying exactly what did he meant, saying he's been in touch with the newspaper

"I want clarification of the use of quotes," he said. "The quotes are accurate, but the context in which they're presented gives the quote a totally different context."

But some called his remarks insensitive.

Bratton fired back, saying he's simply speaking the truth, that not only in New York City, but nationally, 20 to 30 percent of black men have criminal pasts. And a felony conviction will automatically knock a person out of consideration for the NYPD.

"His desire was not to insult, but to find results," Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said. "How do we diversify the department? And I'm hoping he listens to some of the suggestions, such as look at other law enforcement agencies who have it right."

Bratton contends that unlike what was implied in the article, the department's controversial stop and frisk tactic has never been a disqualifier, but he acknowledges it can play a role in the lack of black recruits.

"Because of the negative interaction with a New York City police officer, why would they want to become a New York City cop when they feel they've been inappropriately dealt with when it comes to stop, question frisk?" he said.

Mayor Bill de Blasio says the newspaper needed to look at Bratton's exceptional track record.

"I would have liked The Guardian to have looked at those many, many, many facts," he said. "And I would have liked them not to misrepresent his carer and his beliefs."