De Blasio calls out violence, Cuomo embraces reform of police law in wake of chaotic NYC protests

NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio sought to defend both protesters and police and Gov. Andrew Cuomo signaled support for a long sought criminal justice reform after a spate of violent clashes in New York City Friday night, as the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer has drawn thousands to the streets in cities across the U. S.

Images of police vehicles set ablaze and officers attacking protesters in Brooklyn spread across social media throughout the night and early morning amid a chaotic protest that left hundreds of protesters and cops injured and hospitalized, officials said. De Blasio laid some blame for the national protests at the feet of President Donald Trump.

“There’s been an uptick in tension and hatred and division since [Trump] came along,” the mayor said in response to a reporter’s question Saturday. “It’s just a fact.”

But he spent much of his Saturday press briefing defending police and protesters while calling out aggression on both sides of the protests.

“Last night was a difficult, complex situation,” de Blasio said. “It’s our obligation as a city government, it’s the NYPD’s obligation, to find the best possible way to keep peace — to protect everyone, to avoid anything that allows further violence to occur. But that means also recognizing that any aggressive act toward a peaceful protester sends exactly the wrong message.”

Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, died this week after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Floyd’s final words, “I can’t breathe,” stoked particular outrage in New York, echoing the final words of Eric Garner who died after being put in an illegal chokehold by an NYPD officer in 2014.

De Blasio said he will conduct an independent review of the police’s response to the protests, with more details to come over the weekend. Cuomo said he asked Attorney General Tish James — who represented an area of Brooklyn in the City Council that saw some of Friday’s worst violence — to conduct an investigation of the police response.

“There’ll be people who criticize the police, there will be people who criticize the protesters,” the governor said. “That’s why I think the smart way forward is let’s get an independent review, let’s figure out what happened.”

Cuomo also delivered the most direct promise he’s made thus far on reforming a contentious police disclosure law, known as 50-a, that criminal justice advocates say shields police from releasing officers’ disciplinary records. The issue erupted after Garner’s death when elected officials and advocates demanded the records of former Officer Daniel Pantaleo, whose chokehold of Garner led to the Staten Island man’s death — a push the de Blasio administration fought, citing the state law.

In the past, Cuomo’s references have mostly been about how the law isn’t as binding as people like de Blasio say it is, and their references to it are simply excuses to avoid tough decisions. He repeated that argument on Saturday.

“I do not believe 50-a as an existing law prohibits the disclosure,” he said. “I have done counsel’s opinions that say that. I think local elected officials across the state could release disciplinary records even with the existing 50-a law if they wanted to. I think they don’t want to, so they say ‘I can’t.’”

De Blasio spokesperson Freddi Goldstein said the governor’s comments were confusing.

"If he doesn’t believe it prohibits disclosure, then why does he need to reform it?" Goldstein said. "The mayor said yesterday the law should be repealed and replaced."

The NYPD also voiced its support for updating ... (Read more)

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