Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D—NY) slammed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio over “unacceptable” remarks in which he defended the city’s police department and said it showed "restraint" when responding to protests that erupted during the weekend.
The progressive freshman Democrat issued a statement criticising the mayor’s comments after videos posted online Saturday showed NYPD vehicles driving through a crowd of demonstrators taking part in the nationwide protests over the death of George Floyd. The 46-year-old unarmed black man was killed after pleading for air as a white officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes, according to charging documents.
Mr de Blasio said the city’s police showed “tremendous restraint overall” though he added that he was concerned about the reports of NYPD cars going through throngs of protestors.
“I’ve seen that video and I’ve obviously heard about a number of other instances. It’s inappropriate for protesters to surround a police vehicle and threaten police officers,” he said. “That’s wrong on its face, and that hasn’t happened in the history of protests in the city.”
The mayor also described video footage of the incident as “upsetting” but claimed the confrontation “was started by a group of protesters converging on a police vehicle, attacking that vehicle. It’s unacceptable.”
Many people who watched the mayor’s press conference quickly pointed to other video footage from the protests in New York City that showed officers engaging in numerous altercations with demonstrators, as well as arresting clearly-marked journalists covering the demonstrations.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez tagged the mayor in a statement posted to Twitter, writing: “Your comments tonight were unacceptable.”
She added: “As mayor, this police department is under your leadership.”
“This moment demands leadership [and] accountability from each of us. Defending and making excuses for NYPD running SUVs into crowds was wrong,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez continued. “Running SUVs in crowds of people should never, ever be normalized. No matter who does it, no matter why.”
The congresswoman has called for the officers involved in the incident to be “brought to justice”, writing: “They could've killed them, and we don't know how many they injured.”
Many of those taking part in demonstrations throughout at least 30 US cities have said they were protesting the death of Mr Floyd, as well as the use of excessive police force against minority communities.
