Top cop Bill Bratton named a former Obama-administration official as his second-in-command Wednesday — a pick that Mayor de Blasio reluctantly approved to avoid a fight so soon after their public display of ¬affection at Gracie Mansion, sources told The Post.
Hizzoner gave the green light after “a lot of back-and-forth” and a surprise phone call Tuesday from the White House, a source said.
Benjamin Tucker, who had been deputy commissioner of training since returning to the NYPD in January, was sworn in at One Police Plaza on Wednesday afternoon.
His selection was immediately questioned by prominent minority leaders, who weren’t satisfied simply because a black man was given the lofty position.
“Ben Tucker has an interesting background, but there is no recent evidence of any meaningful community-based experience,” said US Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn).
“Let’s hope he will be successful, but the jury is out.”
Bratton told de Blasio about Tucker on Tuesday — and the mayor quickly got negative feedback from lawmakers and groups like the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and a black police coalition called the Grand Council of Guardians, sources said.
De Blasio told Bratton to ¬rethink the pick.
Bratton insisted that Tucker, a former NYPD cop, was the best choice to replace Philip Banks III, who sparked a crisis last week when he unexpectedly quit as chief of department rather than lose power by taking a promotion to first deputy commissioner.
De Blasio didn’t want to deepen the rift with Bratton so soon after their Sunday news conference at Gracie Mansion that promised their relationship was rock solid, the sources said.
City Hall then got a call from a member of President Obama’s administration supporting Tucker, who served as a deputy director in the Office of National Drug Control Policy from 2009 to 2013 before being wooed back to the NYPD in January by Bratton.
Although Tucker is black, his promotion brought a tepid response from various minority police critics.
City Council members ¬Jumaane Williams (D-Brooklyn) and Vanessa Gibson (D-Bronx) issued a statement saying it was “obvious that no one can replace Chief Banks, and his departure is a huge loss to the NYPD and the entire city . . .
“It is our hope that Deputy Commissioner Tucker hits the ground running by developing and strengthening relationships throughout the city and taking immediate steps to addressing systemic issues before we lose any progress that has been made thus far,” they added.
The Communities United for Police Reform likewise said that Tucker “will be judged by whether he takes action to change the NYPD for the better.”
The Rev. Al Sharpton ¬offered only lukewarm support, saying that while he has known Tucker for years, “we have never worked closely together.”
Additional reporting by Michael Gartland