Less Stimulus Than Stun Gun

The gargantuan NYPD uniformed police force may get up to 900 new officers through the federal stimulus package, a number higher than the entire Buffalo police force*:

Police commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday he would welcome the 900 extra cops that could come from President-elect Barack Obama’s proposed stimulus package.

“Any program that increases the number of police officers in the city, especially in a time of terrorism and at no cost to us, is good news,” Kelly told the Daily News.

The incoming President’s latest $800 billion plan to jump-start the nation’s imperiled economy would earmark $1 billion to hire more than 13,000 cops across the nation.

City police forces must apply for the money, which will be doled out in three-year block grants.

The federal money likely will cover 75% of the cost of a new hire, said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn/Queens), who fought for extra police funding.

*See, for example.