Bill Bratton, New York City's new police commissioner, had a surprise waiting for him on his first day at the NYPD: A bottle of champagne with a note saying, "Happy New Year, Ray Kelly."
"It's just a reflection of the man that he is," Bratton
told the New York Daily News of the gift from his predecessor Ray Kelly.
Bratton, who was New York City's top cop from 1994-996, was sworn in again by Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday.
"Who says you can't come home again?" Bratton said afterward. "It is home, and it's great to be back."
Bratton also praised Kelly, pointing to his work with the city's counterterrorism efforts.
"I do applaud and understand the shoes I am stepping into," Bratton said.
Bratton, who has pledged to overhaul the NYPD's controversial stop-and-frisk policy, touted the need for community policing, the
New York Post reports.
"You cannot arrest your way out of the crime problem," he said. "Our commitments, my commitment, is that we will do all we can to ensure a collaboration unlike any we've ever seen in this city."
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