Bratton 'Optimistic' NYPD Will Get More Police Officers

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told reporters Thursday he feels optimistic the NYPD will be getting more cops in the next city budget.

"We are going to be seeking additional officers, but the devil's in the detail, right now we're working out details with the mayor, with the City Council," Bratton said.

But the commissioner didn't want to divulge numbers.

"At some point before the budget is finalized I'm optimistic that there will be more police, as to how many that's too early to say," he said. "I'm comfortable as we go forward that there will be some increase in the size of the department."

Bratton praised Mayor Bill de Blasio, who had some tense moments with police following the killings of two police officers last December amid a wave of protests against police conduct.

"He has really prioritized the needs of this department," the commissioner said.

Bratton is also going to establish a separate NYPD unit to investigate use of force incidents by police, a concept he inaugurated at the Los Angeles Police Department.

"What you had there, which we will seek to replicate here, is you put some of your top investigators, equip them with the latest technology," Bratton said, adding he would eventually like that unit to be able to produce a computerized virtual representation of what took place.

In:
• New York City Police Department
• Bill de Blasio
• Rich Lamb