commissioners

“Things are very different now. Things evolved during the period of time that I was there where the police commissioners, for all intents and purposes, provided a rubber stamp,” he said in the deposition.

“The stakes are high. Americans are making serious life decisions — such as whether to leave a job or forgo an opportunity — and their livelihoods are on the line,” the commissioners stated.

That response was echoed by Philadelphia's city commissioners, who oversee local elections.

City elected officials would not play a role in selecting those commissioners.

The last two permanent commissioners of the New York Police Department had a salary of about $243,000, according to news accounts.