Days Before Election, NYPD Commissioner Slams Hochul’s No-Cash Bail Law

MANHATTAN (VINnews) — Keechant Sewell, NYPD Commissioner, blasted Governor Hochul’s no-cash-bail policy.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the remarks came days before Election Day, with early voting in full force, as Hochul desperately tries to survive a tight-knit race.

While speaking with the NY Post, Sewell was asked whether Hochul needed to go further in allowing judges to lock up dangerous criminals.

“From the very beginning, we have asked for changes to the bail reform law,” Sewell said. “We ask for judges to be able to consider whether the person is a public safety threat before deciding whether to remand, release or set bail.”

Sewell added: “I think it’s important we make sure that we look at whether or not the [legal] discovery rules are really keeping the criminal justice system moving in the direction we need it to move in. We’ve made that point clear from the very beginning and we hope they’ll consider that in the very near future.”

Mayor Eric Adams was nearby, and he dodged the same question.

The Post asked Adams–who in the past has railed against the current system–to respond to Sewell’s remarks and also whether he’s privately pressured Hochul to change the bail law.

Adams replied, “I say this over and over again: everyone wants to talk about only bail. Our system is broken. And it takes a level of discipline to look at every aspect of that broken system. And I am aligned with Gov. Hochul on far too many of those issues, and I’m leaning to those issues that we are aligned on.”

Earlier this year, Hochul refused a request by Adams to call a special session of the Legislature to deal with surging crime rates and also refused to reform no-cash-bail before the election.

Hochul outraged many voters during her recent debate against Lee Zeldin, in which she said that she did not understand why locking up criminals “is so important” to her opponent.