A defensive NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton on Tuesday admitted that the department’s much-mocked retraining program for 22,000 officers is “a work in progress” and said he will make changes “as are appropriate.”
His comments came less than a week after The New York Post exclusively reported that officers were falling asleep during some of the lectures and also had been told to pop breath mints when they felt like cursing.
In addition, trainees were instructed to spray protesters with baby oil so they couldn’t link arms, and shown a clip from the Patrick Swayze flick “Road House,” in which the actor’s character teaches fellow bouncers to “be nice” when insulted by roughnecks.
The commissioner, speaking to reporters at a Black History Month event at the Greater Allen AME Cathedral in Queens, disputed the idea that most cops gave a thumbs-down to the three-day training in a survey afterward.
He said initial polling showed that a majority of the officers who took the mandatory training so far thought it would lead to less use of force on the job.
