Kelly won't resign over Muslim documentary

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said Friday that he wouldn't resign in the face of a demand from some Muslims angered that cops had been shown the documentary "The Third Jihad," a film that Kelly has denounced as inflammatory.

A group of Muslim leaders, saying the film encourages Americans to be suspicious of all Muslims, on Wednesday called for the resignation of Kelly and his spokesman, Paul Browne. The action follows disclosure this week that some police officers attending an NYPD counterterrorism course in 2010 saw the film in a break room. At a news conference Friday, Kelly stressed that the film shouldn't have been shown and that it wasn't part of departmental training. He previously had apologized for the film's showing by a sergeant.

The strong denunciation he has faced, said Kelly, comes with his job, adding that his department has done a lot of outreach over the years to the Muslim community.

"That doesn't surprise me that some issue might surface that someone would ask for my resignation," Kelly told reporters. "This is a high-profile job, we understand that, you don't make everybody happy."

When asked whether he was contemplating resigning, Kelly answered: "No."

Kelly said he agreed to be interviewed for the documentary because its producer, Erik Werth, had a bona fide career. The interview request was one of numerous such queries he regularly gets, Kelly said.

Kelly appears for about 16 seconds in the 72-minute film and talks about the threats of nuclear terrorism and radiological "dirty bombs," issues he has commented on frequently. Other officials appearing in the film are FBI director Robert Mueller and then-FBI spokesman John Miller, as well as Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.). Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former NYPD Commissioner William Bratton also briefly appear.

Asked by a reporter whether he would serve as commissioner if asked to by the next mayor, Kelly parried the query with a grin: "Believe me, I am worried about getting through today."