NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell — already facing accusations of politically-charged social media activities — is set to appear at a Republican Party event in Queens on Wednesday that has been advertised in a poster identifying Chell by rank and featuring a photo of him in uniform.
The poster for the Whitestone Republican Club event, dubbed “Special Event: NYC In Crisis!,” has raised eyebrows from ex-NYPD officials and government ethics watchdogs, who told the Daily News there could be legal issues at play in Chell’s NYPD credentials being used in connection with the political confab.
“Throughout my career, uniformed members of the Department participating in political events in an official capacity, absent express authorization of the Mayor and Police Commissioner, was forbidden,” said Warner Frey, a retired NYPD captain who used to be the Detective Bureau’s commanding officer of inspections.
“The rationale for this rule was to avoid situations that could create policy confusion and contradiction.”
The rule referenced by Frey is in the NYPD Patrol Guide, which contains various restrictions on political activities.
One prohibits NYPD officials from “endorsing on duty or in uniform or publicly expressing personal views and opinions concerning the merits of any political party or candidate for public office.” Another bans NYPD officials from “authorizing” the use of photographs of them in uniform or allow mention of their rank or department membership for the purposes of private ads.
It’s not clear if Chell gave the Whitestone club permission to use his photo and rank in the poster.
The NYPD’s press office didn’t respond to a request for comment Tuesday, and neither did the Whitestone club, which is led by Republican Queens Councilwoman Vickie Paladino, one of the Council’s most conservative members.
The club tweeted out the poster for the event from its X account Monday.
The Republican Party, both locally and on the national stage, have zeroed in on crime, particularly in cities like New York, as a key talking point ahead of November’s presidential election. Former President Donald Trump recently took a break from his hush money trial to visit a Harlem bodega where a worker was cleared in a fatal attack on a violent customer.
“We have to straighten out New York,” Trump said during that appearance. “If it goes any further out, it’ll never come back.”
Richard Briffault, an ex-chairman of the city Conflicts of Interest Board, said Chell should’ve told the club to not use his police credentials in advertising the event, arguing it’s incumbent on him as one of the NYPD’s top officials to ensure the public isn’t “mislead to believe that his appearance has extra weight and has the endorsement of the Police Department.”
“As an individual, you can engage in political activity, but using your title and your uniform, that’s a misuse of your office,” Briffault, who served as Conflicts of Interest Board chair between 2014 and 2020, said, noting that there are city ethics laws against such conduct, too.
Chell’s appearance comes as he and other NYPD officials, including Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry, are engaged in an increasingly aggressive effort on social media to challenge elected officials critical of them and Mayor Adams.
Dozens of local elected officials sent the mayor a letter last week urging him to punish Chell for recently attacking Democratic members of the City Council from his department social media accounts, including by urging his followers on X to vote if they dislike left-leaning Queens Councilwoman Tiffany Caban.
Asked Tuesday about the pushback against Chell and Daughtry, the mayor stood by them.
“We are the kindest and the gentlest and the most loving Police Department on the globe,” the mayor, a retired NYPD captain, told reporters. “Chief Chell, Commissioner, Daughtry, etc., they are the leaders of the agency and they set the tone in defending police officers.”
The mayor, a Democrat, didn’t return a request for comment via his office Tuesday.
In a Monday post on X, Chell indicated he has no intention of dialing down his social media rhetoric.
“No matter what complaints we receive to silence us, it won’t work!” he posted. “We are going to tell our story, PROTECT OUR CITY, defend our cops, and push back against a disingenuous narrative from A SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO never want the NYPD to succeed. We realize some people have not been prepared for our voice, but I suggest THEY get used to it.”
Carolyn Miller, the Conflicts of Interest Board’s current executive director, declined to comment on specifics involving Chell, but said: “Public servants are free to engage in political activities on their own time and using their own resources; they may not use City time or City resources to do so.”
Rae Downes Koshetz, an ex-NYPD deputy commissioner of trials, said Chell’s club appearance “may not cross the line” if the conversation is squarely focused on “fighting crime.”
“But if Republican candidates and policy proposals are being discussed and it looks as though NYPD executives are supporting Republicans, it could violate Department rules,” she said.
In addition to Chell, the poster for Wednesday night’s event — which features a photo of a police car on fire — says it’ll feature remarks from Joe Imperatice and unidentified “NYPD executives.” It’s unclear who the other NYPD officials are.
Imperatice is an NYPD sergeant and founder of Blue Lives Matter NYC, a pro-police nonprofit group, according to its website.
Imperatice notably isn’t identified by his police rank in the poster or pictured in uniform.
Wilbur Chapman, a 43-year Police Department veteran who served in Chell’s chief of patrol post between 1995 and 1998, said he can’t “remember any ranking officer speaking in front” of a political club.
Given that Chell has raised hackles for weeks over his recent political engagement, Chapman faulted the mayor and NYPD Commissioner Ed Caban for not reprimanding him.
“Caban has failed to silence or chastise him,” Chapman said. “Does this chief think he can enter and be successful in the political arena? It looks like he is preparing for a new career.”