GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) — A Long Island police commissioner said Friday he won’t resign over comments to Newsday blaming the lack of diversity in his police department on Black and Hispanic “broken homes.” Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder told reporters that he serves at the pleasure of the county executive, Laura Curran, and will remain on the job “as long as she has me.” Ryder has apologized for his remarks. Some civil rights groups are calling for his ouster, while others have rallied behind him. Curran said she disagreed with Ryder’s assessment about recruiting obstacles, but that she stood by him, saying he’s “really proven himself in all of our communities, in our growing diverse communities.”
Photo: FILE- Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder speaks to reporters near the scene of a shooting at a Stop & Shop supermarket, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, in West Hempstead, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
