Another mini-controversy is swirling around the de Blasio administration after it was discovered the mayor used a special NYPD aircraft to haul himself back and forth from his Canadian vacation to the memorial service for murdered Detective Miosotis Famillia.
The plane, a Cessna 208 Caravan purchased by the NYPD in 2017, is specially fitted with sensors that can pinpoint radioactive material used in dirty bombs.
A police source quoted in the New York Post said, "It is very unusual to go on an international flight to go pick up the mayor, I think it's excessive because that wasn't what that plane was designed to do. It's designed for counter-terrorism measures. To go to Canada to get the mayor? It's excessive."
The NYPD and the Mayor's office refused to say how much the special flight cost the taxpayers or why the mayor didn't fly commercial. A source said the cost of using the Cessna would be in the thousands.
A spokesperson from the NYPD said, "The NYPD, as a longstanding matter of policy, does not comment on specific details regarding the protection of elected officials, however, careful consideration is made to ensure that the work of the security detail has no impact on other NYPD operations."
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