Ex-NYPD SBA President, Port resident Mullins defends language

Robert Pelaez
A trial against ex-NYPD Sergeant Benevolent Association President and Port Washington resident Edward Mullins launched in October. (Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Ex-NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association President and Port Washington resident Edward Mullins defended comments he made about government officials during a disciplinary trial last week.

Mullins is being tried by the Civilian Complaint Review Board on charges of using offensive language in referring to former Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot and former City Councilman Ritchie Torres last year, according to legal documents. Last week Mullins said he believed the comments he made about the two last year were “appropriate,” according to multiple reports.

Mullins said he felt the need to speak out against Barbot last year when she reportedly denied a request from a former Police Department chief to provide officers with protective equipment. Mullins also said he spoke out against Torres, an openly gay person who was in the midst of a campaign for public office, because he had accused officers of engaging in a work slowdown that resulted in an uptick in murders and shootings.

Board attorney Jonathan Fogel advocated that Mullins be fired for using derogatory and offensive language. Mullins filed for retirement in October, but it does not become official until Nov. 5.

Mullins, who has been a member of the NYPD since 1982, assumed his role as president of the police union on July 1, 2002. FBI agents raided the union’s Manhattan office and his Port Washington home last month. According to reports, some of the boxes appeared to hold a hard drive and electronic equipment.

Mullins has also drawn attention for multiple attacks on NYPD leadership and Mayor Bill de Blasio. Last year Mullins posted from the SBA’s Twitter account an unredacted arrest report about De Blasio’s daughter, Chiara, after she was arrested at a protest against the death of George Floyd.

In a tweet last month, De Blasio said, “Ed Mullins dishonored his uniform, his city and his union more times than I can count. It was just a matter of time before his endless hatred would catch up with him. That day has come.”

The Sergeants Benevolent Association manages a $264 million retirement fund and its 13,000 members make it the fifth-largest police union in the nation, according to the group’s website.

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