Brian Mulkeen. NYPD
The Police Benevolent Association condemned two public defenders on Saturday for using hero officer Brian Mulkeen’s tragic friendly fire death to “demonize cops.”
The pro-cop organization tweeted a screen grab of a Facebook post made last week by attorney Deborah Lolai of the Bronx Defenders sharing a news story of Mulkeen’s death.
“Anne Dean suggested a much better headline,” she wrote in the post, citing a colleague with the Bronx Defenders. “‘NYPD Murders Another Black Man, Then One Of Their Own’.”
The PBA went on Twitter to express outrage that the fallen cop, who was slain by friendly fire while wrestling with an ex-con in a Bronx housing project last week, was being posthumously maligned by the lawyers.
“Absolutely disgusting. These two individuals, apparently both @BronxDefenders attorneys, are gleefully using hero P.O. Mulkeen’s death to demonize cops,” the organization wrote.
“This is a PUBLICLY FUNDED organization with a history of promoting vile anti-police rhetoric,” the PBA added. “They need to be shut down.”
Bronx Defenders received close to $38 million dollars in public funding last year, according to its most recent tax filing. Its website lists Lolai as an LGBTQ Client Specialist — and the organization lauded her on Twitter for her role as part of a Department of Corrections task force just a day before her controversial post.
Mulkeen, 33, was hailed as a hometown hero at his funeral Friday, which was attended by thousands of fellow cops.
A law enforcement source told The Post that the officer’s family and friends don’t blame police for his untimely death.
“They know it was [suspect Antonio] Williams,” the source said. “They understand it was [Williams’] fault, that no one else did it.”
The original post no longer appeared online Saturday afternoon after Lolai apparently deleted her account. She could not be immediately reached for comment.