On Friday, the NYPD defended its decision to not disclose that an officer had accidentally discharged his gun during their clearing of Columbia University’s campus Tuesday night.

Mayor Eric Adams and police officials have been facing questions over their response, but had not mentioned the incident.

“We would have talked about it. We gave it to the DA. I knew it would come up eventually because it always does. There was no rush for us to talk about this,” Tarik Sheppard, deputy commissioner of public information for the NYPD, said.

Sheppard noted that police protocol is not to release any information on accidental discharges.

“Just because it happens at a place where we’re doing an operation, where now it’s at a place that we consider newsworthy, now we care. But accidental discharges happen every single year and we average about eight a year,” Sheppard said.

NYPD officials said a sergeant discharged a bullet from his 9mm gun while trying to enter a locked office in Hamilton Hall. The gun had a flashlight, and officials said lighted firearms are standard practice for tactical entry teams.

The gun accidentally went off when the officer was trying to enter the office through a broken window.

“When the sergeant transitioned his firearm to his non-dominant hand, he began to use his dominant hand to gain entry through the window, which is when the unintentional discharge occurred,” Carlos Valdez, chief of emergency services, said.

Police officials insisted no one was in danger. They said the bullet lodged in a door frame and then fell to the ground.

“At no time were any police officers, members of the public, or any protesters in danger. This was purely unintentional,” Valdez said.

Meanwhile, on Friday, lawmakers sent a letter to Adams asking that he discipline Chief of Patrol John Chell for his controversial social media posts that attack critics of the police department.

NY1 political anchor Errol Louis was also cited by lawmakers as one of the journalists who Chief Chell had singled out on social media.

“We should be expecting more from the mayor and the police department in particular. We should have a level of trust that the courtesy, professionalism and respect will be maintained in tense moments,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said.

In the letter, lawmakers point to a local conflict of interests law that bars public servants from using city resources like a city computer or email account for any political purpose.

The mayor’s office pointed to a double standard.

In a statement, a Mayor’s Office spokesperson said: “We encourage these elected leaders to practice what they preach, and join us in truly supporting free speech, even when it’s not politically convenient for them.”

However, Williams pushed back.

“Civil servants of the NYPD are not elected officials. Their job function is different. Even by charter and by law, than duly elected officials who are elected by the city of New York,” Williams said.