Police Commissioner Faces Backlash For Saying That Minority Candidates Come from “Broken Homes”

Long Island’s police commissioner is being pushed to resign after making statements that blamed his department’s diversity problems in part on possible candidates from “broken homes” in minority areas.

Newsday interviewed Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick J. Ryder for an investigation that was published online on Thursday. During that time, Long Island newspaper found that Ryder’s agency and the neighboring Suffolk County Police Department hired 67 Black candidates from a pool of 6,539.

“Look, a lot of these kids come from broken homes,” he told Newsday. “These kids struggle in these communities because they don’t have both parents around. They don’t have a family history of law enforcement. They’re at a disadvantage starting off. And we have to recognize it, and it’s true. I can’t fix the family home, but I can fix the kid.”

“I can help him get better and work with him to make sure we don’t lose that kid and get him into the job,” he added. “There are some great kids out there that we would love to have part of this department.”

Some activists on Long Island have called for Ryder to resign after apologizing for his statements during a news conference on Thursday afternoon.

“He should resign. When he says something like that, for a commissioner, it’s disgraceful,” said Douglas Mayers, NAACP president of the Freeport-Roosevelt branch on Long Island. Ryder’s comments made him “livid,” Mayers said. “I won’t work with him for nothing anymore.”

Terrel Tuosto is a co-founder of LI Peaceful Protests, a grassroots organization that has led marches on the island against police brutality. “He should resign,” Tuosto, 29, said flatly. “He is not fit for the job.”

Nassau County Executive Laura Curran defended Ryder and claimed calls for his resignation were unfair during Thursday’s press conference about how Ryder’s police force is equipping sworn officers with body cameras.

“Part of the reason I selected him to be the police commissioner is because he has a commitment to community policing. And he has a commitment to diversity in hiring,” Curran said. “You speak to folks all over this county. He is everywhere. He engages with everyone, every background, every race, every ethnicity, every community.”

During the media briefing, Ryder addressed his comments.

“If I offended anybody, I truly apologize for that. That was not the intent,” Ryder said. “I don’t read from a script. I speak from my heart and my head. I give you what I’m thinking, and I tell you,” he said. “I know these communities that I’ve worked in. I mentor kids today in these communities.”

Before his apology, Ryder said his comments were made six months ago and that his purpose was “to show how we are continuing to improve recruitment efforts to increase diversity through community outreach and supporting applicants throughout the process. My entire adult life has been dedicated to law enforcement and building trust in our communities.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network’s Long Island regional director, E. Reginald Pope Sr., claimed he and Ryder get along well.

“I don’t think he meant it, in the context that it was taken, as a racial trope,” Pope said. “He could have used a better choice of words.”