Students at Harvard Law School plan to honor the Bronx public defender who was caught lying about her organization’s role in an outrageous anti-cop rap video, The Post has learned.
Robin Steinberg is among 50 female lawyers and policy makers who will be lauded next month as an “inspiration” to aspiring attorneys at the elite grad school.
Steinberg, executive director of the Bronx Defenders, is serving a 60-day suspension after city investigators determined she tried to cover up her taxpayer-funded group’s role in producing a rap video that showed a uniformed cop with guns pointed at his head.
Two underlings were forced to resign over the “Hands Up” video, first reported by The Post.
Despite her questionable ethics, Steinberg’s picture will hang in a place of honor at Harvard Law’s Wasserstein Hall for two weeks as part of the institution’s International Women’s Day celebration.
She will also be recognized in a March 10 keynote address organized by two student-run groups — the Harvard Women’s Law Association and the Harvard Law and International Development Society.
NYPD union leaders blasted the school for honoring Steinberg, with Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch calling it “embarrassing.”
“In that she lied to city investigators regarding her role in the disgusting ‘Hands Up’ cop-killer video, it is obvious that she is not being honored for her ethics, integrity or for her management skills,” he fumed.
“Holding her up as a role model effectively tarnishes the award.”
Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins said he was dumbfounded by the decision.
“Harvard is a highly respected academic institution that has world-renowned alumni,” Mullins said. “For whatever reason, it has its moments where there is purely a lack of common sense.”
The Harvard Law Web site says Steinberg and other honorees were chosen “based on compelling narratives” about how they “strive for impact and excellence in the legal field” and serve as “an inspiration to students, faculty and staff.”
The deadline for nominations was Jan. 21, more than a month after The Post revealed that two defense lawyers from the Bronx Defenders appeared in the rap video.
The video shows rappers “Uncle Murda” and “Maino” holding pistols to the head of a white actor playing an NYPD cop and features the lyric, “For Mike Brown and Sean Bell, a cop got to get killed.”
The two Bronx Defenders lawyers who appeared in the video — Ryan Napoli and Kumar Rao — quit after the video came to light.
The Department of Investigation found in a probe that Steinberg “made misleading statements to city officials about the organization’s involvement.”
Steinberg, who went to NYU Law School, was suspended for 60 days and warned that she would be under increased scrutiny for six months when she returns.
Leaders of the two student groups behind her selection didn’t return requests for comment. A school spokesman said she’d be honored despite the controversy.
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