New York City police commissioner names second in command

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Wednesday named a black attorney who was running the department's training programs to the position of First Deputy Police Commissioner, the second highest-ranking job of the largest U.S. police force. The appointment of Ben Tucker, currently deputy commissioner of training, follows the unexpected resignation of Philip Banks, who stepped down as police chief days before he was due to be promoted to the deputy commissioner spot. "This is an amazing moment and time in my life," said Tucker, who joined the NYPD in 1969 as a police officer trainee. When Banks stepped down on Friday, city council members and public figures like Al Sharpton called for a deputy commissioner sensitive to the concerns of minority residents to replace Banks, who is African American. Sharpton said he wanted to meet with Tucker to discuss possible police reforms. "I would hope those conversations lead to a candid and fruitful continuation of making the city fairer and safer,” he said. Outgoing First Deputy Police Commissioner Rafael Pineiro, who is Hispanic, was the department's top minority member. Bratton said Tucker, who has worked as an attorney and associate professor of criminal justice, was an "extraordinary leader" with the ability to help build better relations between police and minority communities. The already strained relationship between law enforcement and minorities worsened in July with the death of Eric Garner, a black father of six who was killed after a white police officer put him in a chokehold. Bratton on Wednesday also denied reports that Banks may have rejected the deputy commissioner job because it was relatively powerless, saying repeatedly that the position was of high importance with many responsibilities. On Sunday, Banks released a statement saying that he decided to resign because the new job would take him away from doing hands-on police work. “While Commissioner Bratton and I both made good-faith efforts to bridge that gap, we were not successful,” he said. (Reporting by Laila Kearney; Editing by Bill Trott and Eric Walsh)