New York City mayor Bill de Blasio, in a speech delivered Tuesday, denounced the violent riots that have been taking place in the city, saying that he was “sick of people attacking the city of New York.”
He also defended the efforts of the New York Police Department (NYPD) in addressing the situation.
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De Blasio’s speech referred to the instigators of violence and other destructive behavior as people who don’t believe in the city, local communities, and police officers. “To hell with all of them,” he said, further adding that rioters and looters did not represent the majority of New Yorkers who are “hardworking, decent people in the middle of the pandemic.”
Protests over the death of George Floyd turned violent Monday night in New York City as rioters attacked police stations and ransacked stores.
Hundreds of people were arrested by the NYPD, although city and state leaders have been widely criticized, including by President Donald Trump, for failing to take further action.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, during a briefing Tuesday, said he was outraged over the city’s mismanagement of the riots and placed much of the blame on de Blasio and the NYPD. He referred to de Blasio’s handling of the situation as a “disgrace” and even went so far as to threaten to remove the mayor from his position. “The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night, I believe that,” Cuomo said.
Although Cuomo did not appear to have much faith in de Blasio, he said he supported the NYPD’s efforts to handle the riots and expressed his confidence in the city’s law enforcement, according to Spectrum News 1. “I believe the NYPD can do this,” Cuomo said.
We do not need the National Guard to come into New York City. When outside armed forces come into communities, especially these intense situations they have not been trained for, that’s a dangerous scenario. We have 36,000 police officers who will keep this city safe. pic.twitter.com/ZSYCxRQ5jv
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) June 2, 2020
New York has not activated its state’s National Guard, and de Blasio stated that he would not need state or federal assistance to handle the riots. He further added that the NYPD would be able to do its job more effectively because it is made up of New York City residents and is “majority people of color.”
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