New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said several incidents caught on video with police including an officer who drew his gun during protests, a NYPD vehicle moving into a crowd, an officer pushing a woman and more are under investigation.
With regards to the police officer with the gun, he describes the officer in the “middle of a situation that admittedly looked chaotic” but as protesters were in front of the police officer, he drew his gun yesterday. Seeing that video “was absolutely unacceptable.” There will be an “immediate” full investigation of that incident. He noted a superior officer immediately stepped in and moved that officer away from the crowd. “That officer should have his gun and badge taken away from him today. There will be an investigation immediately to determine larger consequences.”
The video of the vehicle moving through a crowd is under investigation internally within the NYPD, and by the independent review the NYC Mayor set up with the corporation council and department of investigation commissioner. “That was so troubling to the people of this city,” de Blasio said about this incident.
He added: “There is no situations where a police vehicle should drive into a crowd of protesters or new Yorkers of any kind. It is dangerous it is unacceptable.”
De Blasio said that videos of an officer pushing a woman to the ground and officers opening a police car door and hitting a protesters are “under review right now.”
“Discipline must be meted out in any situation it is merited,” the mayor said.
De Blasio added, “there are some” police officers “who do not belong in this job, and there are some that use violence when they shouldn’t, there are some that are disrespectful to people they serve, there are some that harbor racism in their hearts, these people should not be in the police force and its our job to get them out.”
