De Blasio picks Bratton as the city's next police commissioner

UPDATED 12/5/13 at 6:45 P.M.: Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio on Thursday announced he is returning old law enforcement hand Bill Bratton to the NYPD commissioner post, and the two vowed a “new day” of community policing.

“Public safety and respect for the public aren’t contradictory ideas,” de Blasio said at a news conference in Brooklyn. De Blasio would be the second New York City mayor Bratton, 66, has served. Bratton spent his early career in Boston, rising to become chief of the force before he was recruited to come to New York in the mid-1990s.

“I will get it right in this city once again,” Bratton said. Bratton pledged to reform stop-and-frisk, calling it an “unnecessary intrusion” in the lives of New Yorkers. He said NYPD officers must adhere to their constitutional obligations, that every member of public must “be treated respectfully” and that policing “must be done compassionately, it must be done consistently.”

Bratton said “the goals will be quite simple.”

Those goals include maintaining a low crime rate, establishing a collaborative relationship with other agencies to combat terrorism, and fulfilling “the mayor’s dream” to bring the community together by establishing “mutual respect and trust.”

De Blasio introduced Bratton as the “leading national voice of community policing” and said the two were “kindred” spirits. He said Bratton would bring the best of his last NYPD tenure, during which he lowered crime rates and created CompStat, to an administration with different values than that of Rudy Giuliani. “This is not déjà vu,” Bratton agreed.

Outgoing Police Commissioner Ray Kelly congratulated Bratton.

“I look forward to working with Bill to ensure a smooth transition,” Kelly said in a statement. As the first police commissioner under Giuliani between 1994 and 1996, Bratton earned plaudits for helping drive down crime. But Bratton wasn’t publicity-shy, and that led to repeated clashes with his boss.

In an incident that soured the relationship, Bratton appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, with the headline, “Finally, we’re winning the war against crime. Here’s why.” That reportedly infuriated Giuliani and led to Bratton’s ouster.

After leaving the NYPD, Bratton went on to head the Los Angeles Police Department. He will take the reins from Kelly, who himself served a second tour as top cop under Bloomberg after working for David Dinkins in the early 1990s.