Ex-NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio Still Keeps his NYPD Security Around Amid Probe of Misusing It - Report

De Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray have reportedly had a team of six NYPD detectives and a sergeant assigned to them as their personal limousine and security service since he left the office four months ago.

Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio continues to be driven around town by an NYPD security detail despite his refusal to pay taxpayers roughly $320,000 that city investigators claim he owes for misusing the privilege while in office, the New York Post reported.

According to the report, citing sources within the police department, from early dawn until late at night, at least two police are always on call to serve the former mayor's family. They reportedly take them to restaurants, Prospect Park for lengthy walks, and the Park Slope YMCA, where de Blasio enjoys working out on a regular basis.

More to that, the security detail has also been a presence at the luxurious Marriott at Brooklyn Bridge, where de Blasio and McCray have been staying for months while their Brooklyn home is being renovated.

"He basically has armed chauffeurs taking him to the gym," a source told the outlet. "It is ironic since … he’s responsible for a lot of the anti-police rhetoric in the city today."

For instance, former mayors Ed Koch (1978-1989) and David Dinkins (1990-1993) reportedly kept taxpayer-funded police security for six months after leaving office, while Rudy Giuliani (1994-2001) and his family kept it for a year. After leaving office at the end of 2013, billionaire ex-mayor Michael Bloomberg (2002-2013) simply hired retired NYPD security officers as his personal bodyguards.

Following a damning Department of Investigation (DOI) report issued last October, the question arose if de Blasio should be granted the same privilege.

In the report, the DOI determined that de Blasio owes taxpayers $319,794 for improperly using "NYPD resources for political purposes" by having his security detail guard him while he was out of state during his failed presidential campaign, including when he went to see his beloved Red Sox play baseball in California. De Blasio was also chastised by the department for abusing the benefit by having cops conduct errands for him, such as assisting his daughter with her move and chauffeuring his son.

The former mayor has reportedly filed an appeal with the city's Conflicts of Interest Board, which ordered him to compensate the city for allegedly misusing police detail.