Judge Jeanine Pirro: Departure of NYPD commander a sign of frustration with 'feckless' leaders

New York City police officers are becoming increasingly frustrated with the city's law enforcement policies, Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro said Friday on "Fox & Friends," as she pointed out the resignation of a precinct commander in the Bronx. 

"It’s crazy, and you know, we are now going to see the reverse of the pendulum, where crime is going to go up and we will suffer the consequences of a feckless police department, not in terms of the cops, but in terms of the direction from the top," said the host of "Justice of with Judge Jeanine."

The New York Post reported that Deputy Inspector Richard Brea, of the Bronx’s 46th Precinct, will resign after nearly 30 years on the force in protest to the department's reforms and response to recent anti-police protests. Guardian Angels leader Curtis Sliwa told The Post that Brea quit out of frustration with top-level NYPD officials, who recently disbanded the force's plainclothes anti-crime unit. 

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Commissioner Dermot Shea said earlier this month that roughly 600 plainclothes officers from the anti-crime unit will be reassigned to other teams.

The New York Police Department reported last week a staggering increase in shooting numbers, and injuries, as officials warned there was "a storm on the horizon" – and said changes must be made. An estimated 72 people were wounded in 53 shootings citywide from June 15 through June 21, an NYPD spokesperson said Monday morning. 

The department saw 14 shooting victims in 12 shootings for the same time period last year, data shows.

Pirro said the departure of Brea - who worked in a high-crime area with gang activity - "is an indication of the frustration" among officers, explaining that the anti-crime unity was responsible for combatting some of the "worst crimes in the city." She said that precinct commanders don't want to report fewer arrests and higher crime stats to their bosses with "no way to fight it."

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"He just said 'the heck with this, I’m getting no direction from the department, I’m getting no help,' " said Pirro, adding that morale is down among officers who "are having their hands tied behind their backs."

Pirro said that minority-owned businesses and minority communities will suffer the most from the current turmoil. 

Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report.