Bratton's Comments On Rev. Sharpton Meeting Raises Eyebrows

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton raised some eyebrows Wednesday morning with comments he made at a breakfast event.

Bratton was speaking at the Crain's New York Business Breakfast when he was asked how he felt about being publicly lectured by the Rev. Al Sharpton at City Hall back in July.

"We live in very interesting times," Bratton told the crowd. "I'll shake hands with the devil if necessary to keep this city calm, safe and secure."

Bratton and Sharpton were part of a roundtable discussion held by Mayor Bill de Blasio on police-community relations in the wake of the police custody death of Eric Garner on Staten Island.

"I will meet with whoever is necessary to hear their perspective, their viewpoints," Bratton said.

After the event, Bratton was quick to clarify his comments.

"I've met with Mr. Sharpton frequently over the past 20 years and continue to do so, so that reference of meeting with the devil is not an implication of that term being applied to him," Bratton said.

Then came the surprise phone call.

"The commissioner called me and told me about the comments. He said that he wanted to clarify he was not talking about me," Sharpton told CBS 2's Marcia Kramer by phone.

Sharpton took the high road, but still stepped up criticism of Bratton's signature "broken windows" police policy.

"I'm more concerned about the policy of fairness where communities of color, black and Latino, are not targeted than I am about whether the commissioner or anyone else were calling me names. I'm willing to wear devil horns to the next meeting if it will make the policies fairer," Sharpton told Kramer.

Last month, Sharpton lashed out at critics who questioned his right to tell de Blasio and Bratton how to police the city in the wake of Garner's death.

"I can say what I believe to Bratton," Sharpton said in August. "I'm the guy that let Bratton come to Harlem, to my headquarters, when he was first appointed. So when Bratton comes on my stage, it's all right, but if I question a policy, I'm dividing the city. Come on, let's have an adult conversation."

At the time, the spectacle had some questioning the leadership of the de Blasio admistration, Kramer reported.

"It makes the mayor look weak, it makes Al Sharpton look strong, and it makes Bill Bratton look out of place," political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said back on Aug. 1.

Garner, a 43-year-old father of six, died on July 17 after being placed in an apparent chokehold by police. He had been stopped by police for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes.

De Blasio has downplayed Sharpton's impact on the city and police policy, saying last month, "My mandate is to bring police and community together."

Bratton said at the breakfast Wednesday that Sharpton "has emerged as a very significant leader and voice for people who feel they don't have a voice."

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