Bronx Public Attorneys Under Fire for Appearing in Rap Video Calling for Death of Cops

Two public defenders in an NYC-funded firm are in danger of losing their money after they were discovered participating in a local music video calling for police deaths.

The New York Times reports that the two lawyers, Kumar Rao and Ryan Napoli of the Bronx Defenders, appeared in the video as two lawyers comforting a grieving mother. According to a city investigation, the men were well aware that the video had anti-cop sentiment, with one man emailing another “I love this song!” (A hint: the opening verse of the song, which says, “For Mike Brown and Sean Bell, a cop got to get killed / […] Time to start killing these coppers.”)

While the two lawyers and their supervisor will likely receive suspensions without pay, the rest of the city wants stricter punishments against the firm, which receives $20 million in funding from the city.

“If you’re an organization primarily funded by the city, you can’t use your premises and you can’t sponsor videos that call for killing police officers,” said Mark Peters, commissioner of the Investigation Department — a sentiment echoed by the Bronx District Attorney and the Police Benevolent Association.

Mayor Bill de Blasio pointedly condemned the actions, and said, “the city will take all legal and contractual actions available to it” to punish the firm.

Watch the video in question below (NSFW: Language):

[The New York Times]
[Image via screenshot]

— —

New: The Mediaite One-Sheet "Newsletter of Newsletters"
Your daily summary and analysis of what the many, many media newsletters are saying and reporting. Subscribe now!