Who

Pat Lynch is head of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, the union that represents the city's police officers.

Backstory

Lynch's first exposure to organized labor was through his father, a subway motorman who took Lynch to the picket lines during 1980's 11-day transit strike. In 1984, Lynch joined the NYPD and spent 16 years on the beat, most recently as a community-affairs officer in the Brooklyn North command. In 1999, he threw his hat in the ring for PBA chief, campaigning for the job on the heels of a kickback scandal that had embarrassed the organization. His status as an outsider and lack of ties to the PBA establishment made him an attractive choice, and he narrowly defeated Doc Savage for the job, taking over for Lou Matarazzo in 1999 at the age of 35. He was reelected in 2003. He now represents the interests of about two-thirds of the NYPD's 35,000 to 40,000 sworn officers.

Of note

The PBA was formed in 1894 to help the families of police officers killed in the line of duty, but it's become much more than that. The group represents officers who have been accused of wrongdoing; arranges life insurance and health insurance; and assists with pension planning. Lynch has to perform a delicate balancing act while tackling the inevitable tensions that arise between urban police forces and the communities they serve. He has disavowed racial profiling and taken the mayor to task for manipulating crime statistics, but he also comes to the defense of police officers who have shot civilians—like those in the controversial 2006 shooting of groom-to-be Sean Bell. Lynch's biggest challenge over the past few years, though, has been a long-simmering labor contract dispute. A 2006 agreement set rookie salaries at $25,000 and the department is still finding it hard to recruit new cadets. Lynch and Mayor Bloomberg regularly trade barbs over who's to blame.

Personal

Lynch lives in Bayside, Queens—the neighborhood where he grew up—with his wife Kathleen, their two sons, and a dog named Rover.

True story

Lynch no longer walks a beat, but he was reminded of his old days on the force when a career criminal showed up at his home and tried to con the union boss's wife out of money in January 2007. Lynch radioed for backup and made the collar. It was actually his second bust since he became PBA chief—he also nabbed a car thief near the Queens Midtown Tunnel a few years ago.