Metro

‘God forbid terrorists succeed’ if IG hampers cops: mayor

Appointing an inspector general over the NYPD could undermine the city’s fight against terrorism, Mayor Bloomberg warned yesterday in his strongest push-back yet against legislation that would monitor cops.

“If this bill passes, the law- enforcement agencies that we work with on counterterrorism and intelligence-gathering might be less willing to share information with us if they were concerned it might be released outside the department to an inspector general and the City Council,” the mayor said in a speech at Police Headquarters.

“God forbid terrorists succeed in striking our city because of a politically driven law that undermines the NYPD’s intelligence-gathering efforts,” he said.

The mayor’s address before about 100 top cops came as the council considers two bills to rein in the NYPD and as a judge hears a challenge to the NYPD’s controversial stop-and-frisk tactic.

Again and again, the mayor took aim at NYPD critics as misguided and politically motivated.

“Make no mistake, this is dangerous piece of legislation — and anyone who supports it is courting disaster,” he said of a second bill that would allow state courts to intervene in cases of racial profiling.

Bloomberg didn’t single out any mayoral candidate in his talk. But his remarks were another blow to council Speaker Christine Quinn, who supports the IG bill but opposes a bill that would allow state courts to intervene in cases of racial profiling.

Former Comptroller Bill Thompson, Quinn’s chief rival, said he opposes both bills.

Quinn defended the IG bill, saying, “I believe that we can — that we must — have both safe streets and stronger police-community relations.”

“An IG will provide feedback and recommendations to our commissioner and mayor on how to balance these two goals and ensure one doesn’t impede the other.”

The IG measure has enough support in the Council to override the mayor’s veto.

The racial profiling bill — which Quinn opposes — has the votes to pass. But it’s not clear if it would survive a similar veto.

“In two months, who knows where this is going to be?” said one council source.