New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s handling of the Eric Garner case, including his response to a grand jury’s decision not to indict the officer at the center of the incident, has sparked a mixture of sharp criticism and high praise.
In an interview on Fox News, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, described Mr. de Blasio’s remarks about the case as “racist.” Mr. Giuliani said Mr. de Blasio and the Rev. Al Sharpton, a close ally of the mayor, were “tearing down respect for a criminal justice system that goes back to England in the 11th century.”
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, criticized Mr. de Blasio for not voicing support for the officer involved, Daniel Pantaleo. A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Pantaleo for using an apparent chokehold on July 17 when he attempted to arrest Mr. Garner for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes on Staten Island. Mr. Garner later died.
“We did not hear that you cannot go out and break the law. What we did not hear is that you cannot resist arrest. That’s a crime,” Mr. Lynch said. “If the mayor wants to change policies, and wants us to stand down against crime, then say that.”
Mr. de Blasio defended himself Thursday afternoon, saying he has spent this entire year discussing his “immense respect” for the Police Department. “I never get caught up in what critics say particularly if they are doing it for their own agenda,” he said.
“The people of the city saw a man die who shouldn’t have died. It’s as simple as that,” Mr. de Blasio said. “It’s important to speak to that reality particularly when it’s not an isolated reality.”
The mayor has drawn plaudits for his portrayal of the case in personal terms—he has a biracial family—and by framing it as part of “centuries of racism.”
Others said they approved of the mayor’s handling of thousands of protesters who flooded city streets Wednesday following the announcement of the grand jury’s decision. Dozens were arrested, but there were no widespread incidents of violence or property damage.
President Barack Obama said he called Mr. de Blasio and praised him. “I commended him for his words yesterday,” the president said, and the way “New Yorkers have been engaging in peaceful protests and being productive.”
George Arzt, a longtime Democratic political operative, said Mr. de Blasio had “done much to defuse a very intense situation.”
“He is a calming figure and has done a really good job.” Mr. Arzt said
Kenneth Sherrill, professor emeritus of political science at Hunter College, said he believed Mr. de Blasio was “doing well.”
“He’s made it clear that dealing with this is going to be a long-term process, that this isn’t something where you can waive a magic wand or through a stroke of a pen make it all go away,” Mr. Sherrill said.
Mr. de Blasio’s predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, earned praised from many political observers for reducing racial tension following Mr. Giuliani’s tenure at City Hall. But Mr. Bloomberg and his police commissioner, Raymond Kelly, faced criticism for what some called an overuse of a police tactic known as stop-and-frisk.
Mr. de Blasio, the city’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years, pledged last year in his campaign for City Hall to repair relations between the police and minority communities. He also vowed to reduce the number of stop-and-frisks.
“One of the big lessons of the Garner episode is that you couldn’t solve everything by ending stop-and-frisk and that the grievances in communities of color run very deep,” Mr. Sherrill said.
Others said Mr. de Blasio was part of the problem.
Assemblyman-elect Charles Barron, a Brooklyn Democrat and a former city councilman, lambasted the mayor for hiring William Bratton as his police commissioner and for supporting the so-called broken-windows philosophy of policing. It encourages officers to enforce minor infractions of the law in hopes of preventing major ones.
Mr. Barron also criticized the mayor for not taking a stance on the grand jury’s decision. The mayor declined to opine on the decision, saying he didn’t believe it was his role.
“He should have said this is a gross miscarriage of justice. He should have said the video didn’t lie,” Mr. Barron said. “You can’t sit here and protect (the justice system) and then act like you’re progressive. That’s hypocrisy.”
Public Advocate Letitia James said she believes Mr. de Blasio has “set the right tone” but she said she believes he must do more to overhaul police policies that treat minorities unfairly and clog up the criminal justice system.
Mr. de Blasio said Thursday morning that he intended to pursue policy changes to prevent a repeat of the Garner case.
“We lost a good man in Eric Garner who should not have been lost,” Mr. de Blasio said. “But what I’m trying to help us all think about is—there’s 8.4 million of us—the mission for all of us is to change this city.”
Adam Janos, Byron Tau contributed to this article.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio ’s handling of the Eric Garner case, including his response to a grand jury’s decision not to indict the officer at the center of the incident, has sparked a mixture of sharp criticism and high praise.
In an interview Thursday on Fox News, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, described Mr. de Blasio’s remarks about the case as “racist.” Mr. Giuliani said Mr. de Blasio and ally the Rev. Al Sharpton were “tearing down respect for a criminal justice system that goes back to England in the 11th century.”
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, criticized Mr. de Blasio for not voicing support for the officer involved, Daniel Pantaleo. A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Pantaleo for using an apparent chokehold July 17 when he attempted to arrest Mr. Garner for allegedly selling loose cigarettes on Staten Island. Mr. Garner later died.
“We did not hear that you cannot go out and break the law. What we did not hear is that you cannot resist arrest. That’s a crime,” Mr. Lynch said. “If the mayor wants to change policies, and wants us to stand down against crime, then say that.”
A spokesman for Mr. de Blasio didn’t immediately respond to the criticism.
The mayor has drawn plaudits for his portrayal of the case in personal terms—he has a biracial family—and by framing it as part of “centuries of racism.”
Others said they approved of the mayor’s handling of thousands of protesters who flooded city streets Wednesday following the announcement of the grand jury’s decision. Dozens were arrested, but there were no widespread incidents of violence or property damage.
Read this article and answer the question and you will earn $1. Click here!
|
Start to access to the system with your email. DailyPaywall.com uses a password-less system, all your items, orders and payments are accessible within 30 minutes from the access link sent to your email address. |