The New York City health commissioner rejected a request from the NYPD for 500,000 surgical masks to protect officials from coronavirus, saying to the police official, "I don't give two rats' a**es about your cops," the New York Post reported.
During a short phone call in late March, Dr. Oxiris Barbot made the comment to NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Barbot was asked for 500,000 masks but only had 50,000 to give, the sources said.
The call happened as a growing number of police officers were calling out sick due to coronavirus symptoms. However, no NYPD officers had died at the point of the virus.
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