The leader of the New York Police Department lamented Tuesday that an ongoing retraining program mocked by local news outlets is "a working in progress."
NYPD Commissioner William Bratton told reporters at a Black History Month event at the Greater Allen AME Cathedral in Queens that he will make changes to the program being administered to 22,000 officers as he sees fit, according to The New York Post.
Bratton's comments are in response to news reports that officers were falling asleep during lectures and had been instructed to take a breath mint when they felt the urge to curse. Officers were also reportedly told to spray protesters with baby oil and shown a clip from the movie "Road House."
The police commission insisted that the program holds great value and disputed the idea that most officers disapproved of the three-day training in a survey afterward.
Bratton said that initial polling showed that a majority of the police officers who took the mandatory training thought it would lead to less use of force on the job.
"Sixty-five percent of the officers strongly agreed that it would increase the likelihood that they would only use a minimum amount of force if necessary," Bratton told reporters. "Seventy percent said it would improve their ability to manage conflict on the street."
