NYPD's Ray Kelly Knew He Was Appearing in Anti-Muslim Film

The Third Jihad
Dino Grandoni 1,724 Views Jan 25, 2012

The fallout from that terrible anti-Muslim police video just got a bit worse today as the NYPD commissioner acknowledges that he agreed to be interviewed for it. A New York Times report continues to unwind the police department's spin about The Third Jihad, the quite racist video used in training officers. Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne admitted that New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly knew he was going to appear in the film. Just yesterday the department was found to be fibbing about how many times the film had been screened, originally saying only "a couple of times" when The Times found it to be hundreds. 

This backpedaling, of course, makes this whole racist-video story even worse, especially given the news that police were spying on some Muslims. "The Police Department’s admission suggests a closer relationship between it and the provocative film, which has drawn angry condemnation from Muslim and civil rights groups, than officials had previously acknowledged," The Times reports. Which doesn't mean Kelly isn't sorry today, even though his apology was given through one of his subordinates instead of by himself. "Commissioner Kelly told me today that the video was objectionable,' he said, 'and that he should not have agreed to the interview five years ago, when I recommended it."

 

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