A recent clash between the NYPD and a Daily News columnist spilled onto "Mornings On 1" Wednesday with top brass and the journalist taking shots at one another in separate interviews.
The feud began Sunday with Harry Siegel's column in the Daily News in which he took aim at the police department for highlighting a decrease in crime amidst recent tragedies, including a deadly train shooting and shoving incident. In response, the NYPD swiftly took to social media to label Siegel's piece as inaccurate and call him "Harry 'Deceitful' Siegel."
Chief of Patrol John Chell and Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Tarik Sheppard defended the department's response during an appearance on "Mornings On 1," with Chell expressing concern about the timing of Siegel's article, which was published a day after the funeral of slain Officer Jonathan Diller.
“You had this article come out on Easter Sunday, the day after we bury one of our own and it's not about being wrong factually," he said. "But what was the intent behind this article?"
Sheppard echoed Chell's sentiments, alleging Siegel has a history of intentionally reporting inaccuracies.
"I think you have to look at this individual's history of intentionally putting out wrong information. We do not believe he did this by accident," Sheppard said.
When questioned about the obligation of the NYPD to maintain professionalism, Chell stressed that he will continue to defend police officers in New York City.
"We're defending our young men and women, our cops who are defending this city," he said. "But sometimes, some of the people we're talking to only understand that kind of language. OK, we have an opinion. We have a platform. And sometimes we're going to give it out."
Sheppard agreed, stating that the NYPD's "reputation is very important," but noted that they also encourage civil debate across all social media platforms.
"Most of our interactions online do not get into this sort of contentious battle between people. We're usually very professional and welcome conversations about crime, whether that's an academic or very cordial setting. But there are times in which we have to decide if it's important enough for us to sort of take it up a notch because of what we're dealing with," he said.
However, Siegel, in a subsequent interview on the same program, refuted the NYPD officials' claims, suggesting the department is simply looking to attack him.
"I think this group has been waiting for a chance to pounce and they decided this was it," Siegel said.
Acknowledging the sensitivity of the timing, Siegel said he had no intent of causing any distress to those mourning Diller.
"If anyone felt hurt when they were leaving the funeral to see this piece … that would never have been my intent. This is a profound loss. And if their personal feelings [were hurt], even though people are using their official accounts and the official NYPD accounts to call me names and politicize this, I'm truly sorry about that," he said.
"This claim that Harry Siegel knows better and doesn't care is just flat out slanderous. I've been writing about these fellows for years. And I got one number wrong that had very little to do with the substance of that column," he said.
A correction had been issued for Siegel’s original column after the NYPD pointed out the error.
Still, during his interview, Seigel noted the NYPD has still yet to address the actual issues raised in his column.
"They've not responded to the substance of this which is this transit chief… saying there's nothing we can do about emotionally distressed people," Siegel said.
On Tuesday, Mayor Eric Adams came out in defense of the NYPD's social media posts, saying the pile-on was warranted. However, Siegel stressed that he feels there and more important concerns in the city than his presumed feud with the police department.
"There's more important things happening, and New Yorkers are concerned about whether or not they feel safe and how this administration is doing," he said.