NEW YORK -- In the aftermath of Patrick Dorismond's death, a stunning three out of four New Yorkers believe that the use of deadly force by the city's Police Department has gotten out of hand, and most would support federal monitoring of the department, a News/NY1 poll shows.
The survey, taken after the police shooting of the unarmed security guard March 16, offers a stinging rebuke to Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who has made crimefighting a cornerstone of his administration.
It also reflects deep misgivings about Police Commissioner Howard Safir -- with nearly half the poll sample, 47 percent, saying he should be replaced, compared with 33 percent who would keep him on.
A year ago, at the height of protests over the February 1999 police shooting of African immigrant Amadou Diallo, only one-third thought Safir should resign.
Perhaps most shocking, New Yorkers say by a greater than 2-to-1 majority that the federal government should be granted oversight of the city's storied Police Department. U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch is weighing whether to recommend such oversight, a move that 61 percent of New Yorkers say they would support, compared with just 26 percent who would not.
"Wow," said Republican consultant Nelson Warfield. "If New Yorkers want Janet Reno to oversee Giuliani's Police Department, then his crime-fighting image is going to be tarnished. And that cuts right to the heart of Rudy's performance."
Giuliani responded to the poll, which was released last week, with a curt statement issued by his press secretary, Sunny Mindel.
"Given the amount of coverage this recent incident has received, this is not surprising," the statement read. "The mayor believes in what he is doing, and he always does what he believes. He does not govern by polls."
The furor over recent police shootings has deflated the mayor's approval rating to 45 percent -- down from 54 percent in September and just marginally above his all-time low of 40 percent one year ago in the wake of the Diallo shooting.
The random telephone poll of 504 New Yorkers in all five boroughs was conducted March 22 by Blum & Weprin Associates, a professional polling firm. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percent.
The dissatisfaction with the NYPD's performance comes after three fatal police shootings of unarmed men in the last 13 months. In addition to Diallo and Dorismond, the police shot to death unarmed parolee Malcolm Ferguson on March 1.
