Cops fired their weapons a record low 65 times last year, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Tuesday.
“Think about that — 35,000 officers — they fired their weapons about 65 times,” Bratton said during an interview with 1010 WINS, calling 2015 “a record low year.”
“That’s a phenomenal record,” added Bratton, who said about a third of the incidents were in situations where cops confronted armed assailants.
Last year’s figure reflects a downward trend: Cops fired 83 times in 2013 and 79 times in 2014.
The commissioner said the drop in cops using their weapons reflects the new training efforts by the department that encourage cops to de-escalate a situation when possible, instead of resorting to force when dealing with the public.
“I think it reflects the training, I think it reflects leadership, I think it reflects an adoption of policies that are all about trying to improve our relationships of our officers in neighborhoods … trying to improve the way they can police without always having to resort to use of force,” Bratton said.
The announcement comes one day after NYPD brass revealed overall crime in the city dropped 1.7 percent last year. Homicides and robberies rose 4.5 percent and 2 percent, respectively.
Bratton’s regime has come under fire from critics like former police commissioner Ray Kelly and others who recently accused the NYPD of manipulating crime statistics by changing the way certain crimes are classified.
Kelly has also challenged Mayor Bill de Blasio’s assertions that New York is the safest big city in America.
Bratton and de Blasio have maintained the validity of the department’s numbers, saying that nothing has changed in terms of how crimes are tabulated.
“The city is increasingly getting safer,” Bratton insisted. “You just can’t deny it.”