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NYPD counterterrorism unit set to be slashed up to 75%, internal email shows
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Sep 20, 2023
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PETER GERBER/AFP via Getty Images
By
Bahar Ostadan
Published Sep 20, 2023
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A team of NYPD officers trained to respond quickly to the most organized and heavily armed attacks is set to have its personnel slashed by up to 75%, according to a memo reviewed by Gothamist.
The NYPD Critical Response Command – a key component of the department’s $219.5 million Intelligence and Counterterrorism Bureaus – is one of its “first lines of defense against a terrorist-related attack,” according to the NYPD.
“I am devastated by the news I have to give to you, as you all are family to me,” read an email from Scott Shanley, deputy chief of the NYPD Counterterrorism Critical Response Command, which three current and former NYPD employees shared with Gothamist.
“Today, I was informed that our unit will be downsized significantly, by up to 75%. Though we are still in efforts to reduce this number, whatever the outcome, many home/personal lives will be affected nonetheless,” Shanley wrote.
When reached by phone, Shanley declined to confirm the cuts or whether he had sent the memo.
The email came just nine days after Mayor Eric Adams announced billions in budget cuts following public statements about how the migrant crisis would “destroy” New York City without federal and state assistance.
A spokesperson for the NYPD said the department has no planned personnel changes for the unit.
“The NYPD regularly reviews personnel allocations and considers bolstering resources in various areas whenever it is deemed advantageous to our public safety mission. We have not committed to altering the size of any unit," said Deputy Commissioner Tarik Sheppard, adding that there were "certainly" no plans to make changes during the U.N. General Assembly this week. A City Hall spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The unit's budget for the 2024 fiscal year was just over $63 million, according to city records. The NYPD allocated roughly $55 million to the command’s full-time staff. The department is weighing moving some officers from the unit to street-level patrols to address shortages there, according to one current and one former NYPD employee with knowledge of the decision. Both requested anonymity because of fears that using their names would affect their standing with the department.
The team's members are trained in “special weapons and long-range guns, explosive trace detection, radiological and nuclear awareness, biological and chemical weapons awareness, and are equipped with the skills to detect an impending attack and utilize the best possible response to an emerging situation,” according to the NYPD.
Police Commissioner Edward Caban appointed Rebecca Weiner as NYPD deputy commissioner of intelligence and counterterrorism this summer, making her the first woman to hold the post. The bureau, about which the police department seldom speaks publicly, was launched in the wake of the 9/11 attacks to prevent and plan the NYPD’s response to a future terrorist attack using intelligence collection.
“We deploy resources around the city and sometimes outside of the city based on the intelligence that we collect and disseminate,” Weiner said in July.
This story has been updated to include a comment from an NYPD spokesperson.
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Bahar Ostadan
Bahar Ostadan covers the NYPD and public safety. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or message Bahar on Signal at 646-740-7335.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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