Patrick Lynch, Controversial NYPD Union Leader, To Step Down

NEW YORK CITY — Patrick Lynch, the brash and controversial leader of the NYPD's largest union, is stepping down after more than two decades.

Lynch won't seek re-election as the Police Benevolent Association's president when his term expires in June, the union announced Tuesday.

In an email to union members, Lynch said the expiration of a pending contract in 2025 would butt against his mandatory NYPD retirement a year later.

"This decision is part of a philosophy I have long held: a rider cannot switch horses in the middle of a battle, and the PBA must not change leadership in the middle of a contract fight," Lynch said in the message. "To remain true to my principles, I must allow the change to begin now."

Lynch led the union over 24 years and became a frequent thorn in the side of mayors, police reform advocates and civil rights leaders.

Many New Yorkers — and those beyond the city — knew Lynch from his vigorous defense of the officer who put Eric Garner in a fatal chokehold in 2014. When the officer was fired in 2019, Lynch issued a scathing statement that accused then-Commissioner James O'Neill of choosing "his own self-interest over the police officers he claims to lead."