THE TOP COP in America’s biggest city took a hands-on approach to cannabis use earlier this week – snatching a joint from a schoolgirl on the street, and throwing it away.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton told the story during a speech at New York Law School, suggesting it was a bit of a Kodak moment when the young woman instantly recognised him as the most powerful law enforcement officer in New York.
I had the unique experience, the other morning, of walking on Wall Street, 8.30 in the morning, walking down the street…
And all of a sudden, there it is – that smell. And I said ‘What the hell? It’s 8.30 on Wall Street.’
When he and his security detail came to a pedestrian crossing, Bratton said he saw a “young woman, happily puffing away,” with headphones in and a school bag on her back.
So my security officer came up on one side, I came up on the other and tapped her on the shoulder.
She looked over, and I wish I had a photograph of that face, because she instantly recognised me.
So we politely removed the marijuana, threw it into the local sewer and suggested that she might have a better academic day without the influence of that on the way to school.
Only in New York, kids.
Bratton was answering a question about the decriminalisation of cannabis, and clarified that he was a “strong advocate of controlled, medicinal marijuana”, but opposed to legalisation.
You can watch the speech here – the relevant portion starts at the one-hour mark.
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