He was biding his time. Waiting in line. But it turned out NYPD’s second-in-command was not going to be promoted to police commissioner. And now he has expressed his disappointment publically.
Right after being turned down for the top NYPD post by Mayor Bill de Blasio, the force’s second-in-command, Benjamin Tucker, had to talk to reporters at a press conference recently while sitting next to the mayor.
Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea was appointed by the commissioner.
The first deputy commissioner admitted he was “disappointed” about not getting the promotion. This was the second time he had been passed over for the slot.
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“What do you think? Yeah, of course you’re disappointed, right?” Tucker answered a reporter’s question. “At the same time, it’s the mayor’s call, and so I’ll leave it there.”
He was even more upset behind the scenes.
“[Tucker’s] not happy. He wanted the job,” a City Hall source told the New York Post. “He thought he deserved the job.” He even, said sources, enlisted black politicians to lobby City Hall on his behalf.
Tucker, 66, has been with the department for 22 years. He first interviewed for the police commissioner slot in 2016, but de Blasio appointed O’Neill to succeed Bill Bratton.
At the press conference, De Blasio didn’t explain the reasons behind his choice, saying, “There’s a group of professionals up here, exceptional professionals who are here for the same cause.”
“Shea’s selection took many at One Police Plaza by surprise. Critics of the mayor, meanwhile, said he botched the chance to appoint a minority — Tucker is black — to the department’s highest position,” the New York Daily News reported.
