PBA trustee Brian Fusco will challenge Pat Lynch this spring in a bid for PBA president, a group of union insurgents announced Tuesday.
The 27-year NYPD veteran is one of several police officers, who call themselves the Strengthen the Shield slate, seeking to supplant Lynch and the rest of his leadership team for control of the police union.
“It’s time we take over control and get the members the representation they deserve,” Fusco told The Post on Tuesday, adding that Lynch and his cohorts are “failing” them.
He charged Lynch with delivering fiery speeches, only to disappear after the microphone’s turned off. Lynch has been a vocal critic of Mayor Bill de Blasio, accusing Hizzoner of not supporting cops in the wake of the Eric Garner grand jury decision.
Pat LynchReuters“The problem is, after he does his screaming and yelling, there’s no plan for our members to follow,” he said. Fusco added that cops have “thick skin” — and don’t necessarily need to hear an apology from de Blasio.
“We’re obviously more concerned with real issues,” he said.
Among those issues are increased safety measures for police officers, such as better bulletproof vests, effective representation for rank-and-file cops in Albany and some resolution to a “badly mishandled, five-year contract delay,” according to a press release.
The slate of candidates also includes Bronx trustee Joseph Anthony, who is running for vice president, and Bronx trustee Michael Hernandez, who is seeking to be second vice president. Both cops are under indictment for a Bronx ticket-fixing scandal that came to light in 2011.
But Fusco defended the officers, saying it was all an “attack” on the city’s PBA.
“All 10 arrested were delegates or trustees of the PBA,” he told The Post. “Unfortunately this was once again another point of failed leadership by Pat Lynch and his executive board; he enabled them to target his union.”
He’s sure his fellow candidates were “falsely accused” and will be “vindicated in the near future.”
“This will not be a campaign issue going forward. I’m optimistic this will be taken care of before the vote,” he said. “These guys were railroaded, and the members know that.”
