#NYPD chief rips Special Victims Division head in meeting: video

The NYPD’s third-in-command told an underling to “sit down” as he excoriated him for shoddy paperwork and lack of training at a recent closed-door meeting, according to video obtained by The Post Sunday.

The clip shows a frustrated Chief of Department Rodney Harrison dressing down Deputy Inspector Michael King, the commander of the Special Victims Division, at Thursday’s Compstat meeting at One Police Plaza.

Harrison is set off after King admits that the embattled division — which probes sex crimes — has a “very big problem on this job with documentation.”

“Now, I apologize for not being a grammar school teacher but it is hard to get these detectives to document properly and write down what they should,” King says. “That is not an easy job with these detectives.”

“There’s a culture in this division, in the department, in the bureau in terms of writing things properly,” he continues, as others in the room remain silent.

Harrison then interrupts him to say, “Mike, I’m not sure if that’s the answer I want to hear” and then rattles off questions about what the commander has done in terms of addressing the issue, including any transfers or discipline.

“I mean I could go on for weeks regarding discipline,” Harrison says. “Have you done anything of that nature?”

King then says he’s “thrown a few people out” of the unit but not for “documentation.”

That’s when Harrison fires off another series of questions.

“What training have you done?” he demands. “How can you explain to me that the detectives are no good at documenting but you have done nothing about it? That’s my problem. So if the detectives are the problem … what have you done to fix it?”

King offers up that “we have a documentation class that we’re trying to build.”

But Harrison shoots back, “But Mike, how long have you been there?”

King responds that he’s been leading the unit for a year.

“How long?” a bewildered Harrison asks. “You been there for 12 months and now you’re doing it? C’mon man, I’m not buying that. Sit down!”

The tense exchange came during the weekly Compstat meeting, where a different NYPD unit is hauled in to face the music from police brass.

SVD has been going through upheavals for years.

In March 2018, the city’s Department of Investigation uncovered a series of issues, including understaffing, mishandling of cases and a questionable priority system for rapes.

The NYPD challenged certain findings but also implemented changes — one of which was bringing in Judith Harrison, a former precinct commander, to lead the unit before she was transferred in 2020 to helm Patrol Borough Brooklyn North.

Tapped to replace Harrison, who is of no relation to the chief of department, was King. The former nurse, 45, joined the force in 2000 and previously served as commander of the NYPD’s Crime Scene Unit.

In a statement, NYPD spokesman Sgt. Edward Riley notd that Compstat is “designed around performance and accountability.”

“It is a place where top commanders are often asked tough questions. This discussion in its frank, candid, manner sought to discern whether or not there was an issue with a Special Victims Division investigation,” Riley said.

“Specifically, the questions focused on whether the case was handled correctly or whether the report writing was incomplete. When it became clear this would require a longer conversation Chief Harrison conducted follow up conversations with the commanding officer during a break.”

DEA President Paul DiGiacomo said NYPD executives must be at their best “during these most challenging times.”

He added: “Top brass at the Special Victims Division should be leading those in the unit — not making excuses, blaming, and shirking responsibilities.”