John Timoney, Top Cop, Might Have Dirt on the I-Man

John Timoney somehow knew that the way to the I-Man’s heart is through Van Morrison, which is why he picked “Madame George” as one of his five favorite songs.  “I’m from Ireland, as is Van,” said Timoney, his Irish lilt still mildly audible after half-a-century in the United States.

But he wasn’t here today to talk music. Timoney, a former four-star chief in the NYPD who later headed up the police departments in both Philadelphia and, most recently, in Miami, has written a book, Beat Cop to Top Cop.

In the mid-1990s, Timoney, along with former NYPD Police Commissioner Bill Bratton implemented a lot of changes to the way crime was fought in New York City, most notably through the CompStat process.

“You bring commanders in on a weekly basis, going over crime in the area, quality-of-life,” he explained. “And it really had dramatic and immediate improvements. It continues today under Ray Kelly.”

Prior to CompStat, Timoney said much of the NYPD’s focus had been on corruption. “The problem is, if you ask the average citizen, ‘What should the cops be doing, what should their number one job be?’ they’d say fighting crime,” he explained.

Imus is a huge fan of cops, and used to hang out with a crew from the 24th Precinct in Manhattan. Timoney’s brother worked there, and he knew those guys pretty well, and suspects they’ve got some dirt on the I-Man. Also a Timoney pal: Bo Dietl.

“Bo’s a great cop,” said Timoney. “He’s fantastic. You wouldn’t want Bo Dietl after you.”

The message in Beat Cop to Top Cop is to learn from failures just as much—if not more—than from mistakes. As for security in his former turf of New York City, Timoney was impressed with the handling of the attempted bombing in Times Square two weeks ago.

“The NYPD are out on the street, they’ve all been trained, and they really have perfected the response to an unusual incident or emergency situation,” he said. “Within two-to-three hours, everybody, including the command structure of the NYPD was at the scene.”

As for criticisms that the man who intended to set off the bomb in Times Square almost got away, Timoney said, “I used to be a narcotics guy in the late 70s. I think every time I did a surveillance, you lose a guy. That’s part of the deal. But you usually know where to pick them up.”

And, as Imus the savant observed, “James Earl Ray almost got away!”

Eventually and unfortunately, Timoney thinks that the terrorists will hit New York City again. He cautioned, “We need to be ready.” If enough cops read his book, they will be.

-Julie Kanfer