City Hall staffer fired for making disparaging comments about mayor, cops in video

NEW YORK (PIX11) --- A City Hall staffer was fired after being caught on a covert video disparaging New York City cops who quit over the vaccine mandate and calling Eric Adams "corrupt," according to the mayor's office.

“They (former NYPD) chose not to do a very very harmless thing…F--- ‘em!” “F----ing deal with it,” Christopher Baugh is heard saying about police officers in a Project Veritas video that appeared to be recorded without his knowledge.“I don’t give a s--t. They are like, ‘This is unfair.’ F----ng deal with it.”

"Being a cop is like the cushiest gig in the city. Like, you might get shot, but otherwise, it's very good," he added.

Baugh was a "low-level" member of Adams' press team and had no private access to the mayor, Fabien Levy, Adams' press secretary, said in a statement. Baugh was hired by the former administration under Bill de Blasio.

"His comments today disparaging first responders are completely unacceptable, and we’ve terminated this employee effective immediately," Levy said. "Mayor Adams will always stand up for our first responders and have their backs."

After railing about cops, Baugh is heard in the video criticizing Adams' leadership and saying the mayor did more things for the city when he was a police captain in the NYPD. The former city worker also revealed Adams wants to run for president.

"You (Eric Adams) are very corrupt and lots of other issues," Baugh said in the video.

"All he's ever done is be a cop and a civil servant," he added.

Baugh is the staffer who was robbed at gunpoint in Brooklyn back in July. The suspects stole the victim’s city-owned cellphone and a wallet with five credit cards during the attack near Sands and Navy streets on the morning of July 5, police said at the time.

Project Veritas is a far-right political group founded by James O'Keefe in 2010. The group uses secret recordings to discredit the media, a point Levy made in his statement.

"Let’s also not forget that, time and again, Project Veritas has lied to spin false narratives and deceive the American people," Levy said. "This is an enterprise run by a convicted criminal and one that admitted to lying about their identity and their intent just to secretly record and have conversations with this now-former employee. It’s shameful behavior that benefits no one.”

PIX11's attempts to reach Baugh were unsuccessful.