Bratton announces plan to leave NYPD post in 2017

William Bratton, commissioner of the NYPD, said in a new interview that he does not plan on continuing in his current role after the end of 2017.

Bratton, 68, said that he has created a “line of succession” at the police department, according to a New York Times interview in which he did not name a possible successor although he did speak about the qualities of James P. O’Neill, the current chief of department and the NYPD’s highest ranking uniformed member.

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“I was the Jimmy O’Neill, if you will, of the Boston police,” Bratton, who once served as superintendent-in-chief of the Boston Police Department, said to the Times. “So, it’s very gratifying; a lot of what Jimmy is implementing now, here, is in many respects what I implemented back then. And it worked back then.”

As one of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s most consistent defenders, Bratton’s potential exit from his current role would add another layer of uncertainty to the mayor’s political future as other Democrats consider a run against de Blasio, the New York Times added.

“When [Bratton] does eventually move on, there’s no doubt that he will have an unparalleled legacy of distinction to look back on,” Eric F. Phillips, a spokesman for de Blasio, said to the Times. “In the meantime, the mayor and police commissioner remain focused on continuing to drive crime down and improve the community-police relationship.”

The de Blasio administration has seen several high-profile exits in recent months as mayoral counsel Maya Wiley, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Emily Lloyd, Mayor’s Office of Sustainability Director Nilda Mesa and Social Media Director Scott Kleinberg all announced departures from their respective city hall posts, CBS2 reported.

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In light of the recent staff departures, de Blasio’s team insisted that the administration would continue to be fine, even in its handling of ongoing state and federal corruption probes, CBS2 added.

“I have the luxury of going when I want to go,” Bratton was quoted by the Times, discussing his future plans. “I’m not going to be here in the second term. That’s the reality of it.”