Statement of Mayor de Blasio on DOI Investigation into Bronx Defenders

January 29, 2015

“The Department of Investigation’s findings are deeply disturbing. Any endorsement of violence against police officers is completely unacceptable and will absolutely not be tolerated. Keeping New York the safest big city in the country requires that we are vigilant about the security of the nation’s finest police force and the communities they are sworn to protect. Today’s report signals a serious failure to take this role seriously. We rely on entities like the Bronx Defenders to play an essential role in the criminal justice system by safeguarding the rights of indigent clients. The Administration has demanded Bronx Defenders take immediate action in response to the findings of DOI. Unless those actions are fully responsive to the serious issues raised here, the City will take all legal and contractual actions available to it.”

Read letter to Chair of the Board of Directors for The Bronx Defenders (in pdf)