--- description: It happened Thursday morning on Wall Street title: NYPD Commissioner Bratton Threw a Girl's Joint in the Sewer image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe9e5e93f424af5d/698867a6428a9edb58ccf8f1/bratton.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # NYPD Commissioner Bratton Took Joint Out of Girl's Mouth and Threw It in the Sewer by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 9, 2015 5:17 PM CUT  New York Police Department Commissioner William J. Bratton, at a news conference with other law enforcement heads where it was announced that the Federal and New York City authorities have broken up a group that trafficked in synthetic marijuana, known as K2 in New York City, on Sept. 16, 2015. New York Police Department Commissioner William J. Bratton, at a news conference with other law enforcement heads where it was announced that the Federal and New York City authorities have broken up a group that trafficked in synthetic marijuana, known as K2 in New York City, on Sept. 16, 2015.Spencer Platt—Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 9, 2015 5:17 PM CUT Bill Bratton has some big responsibilities as commissioner of the New York City Police Department, but he still finds time to stop even the city’s most petty [criminals](http://nypost.com/2015/10/09/bratton-seizes-womans-morning-joint-tosses-it-down-sewer/ "undefined"). Speaking at a breakfast event on Friday morning, he said that one day earlier, he was walking in the Financial District when he smelled the distinct odor of weed. “All of a sudden, there it is, that smell,” he said, according to the New York _Post_. “I thought, ‘What the hell—8:30 on Wall Street?'” The culprit was a young woman, apparently enjoying a morning smoke on her way to class. Bratton approached her on one side while his security officer cornered her on the other, and the commissioner tapped her on the shoulder. “I wish I had a photograph of that face,” he said. “She instantly recognized me.” Bratton then “politely” removed the joint from the girl’s mouth and threw it in the sewer. Bratton decided not to arrest the young woman, letting her off with probably one of the most compelling warnings in recent policing history. \[[_New York Post_](http://nypost.com/2015/10/09/bratton-seizes-womans-morning-joint-tosses-it-down-sewer/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4068351/nypd-commissioner-bratton-joint-girl-sewer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4068351/nypd-commissioner-bratton-joint-girl-sewer/"},"headline":"NYPD Commissioner Bratton Took Joint Out of Girl's Mouth and Threw It in the Sewer","datePublished":"2015-10-09T17:17:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T11:40:43.569Z","description":"It happened Thursday morning on Wall Street","url":"https://time.com/4068351/nypd-commissioner-bratton-joint-girl-sewer/","keywords":["Marijuana","Crime","NYPD"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe9e5e93f424af5d/698867a6428a9edb58ccf8f1/bratton.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbe9e5e93f424af5d/698867a6428a9edb58ccf8f1/bratton.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NYPD Chief Bratton And US Attorney Bharara Announce Charges Against Synthetic Marijuana Manufacturers","caption":"NYPD Chief Bratton And US Attorney Bharara Announce Charges Against Synthetic Marijuana Manufacturers","creditText":"Spencer Platt—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4068351/nypd-commissioner-bratton-joint-girl-sewer/","name":"NYPD Commissioner Bratton Took Joint Out of Girl's Mouth and Threw It in the Sewer"}}]}] ```