Mayor de Blasio said NYPD enforcement against minor violations will continue, despite criticism of the strategy in the wake of the death of Eric Garner. Garner died after being placed in an apparent chokehold by Staten Island cops who suspected him of selling cigarettes, one of a slew of quality of life offenses targeted under the “broken windows” approach. Breaking a law is breaking a law, and it has to be addressed, de Blasio said, in his first comments on the case since returning from an Italian vacation. He drew a distinction between broken windows-style enforcement and the widespread use of stop and frisk, which he has slammed. Ninety percent [of those stopped] had done nothing wrong in any way, shape, or form, he said. If you’re violating a law, I could understand why any New Yorker might say, ‘Well, that may not be such a big offense, or that may not be something that troubles any one of us individually.’ But a violation of the law is a violation of the law. He said cops have discretion to decide whether to arrest someone they spot committing a minor crime, or merely tell them to knock it off. De Blasio held a press conference with Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on the Garner death on his first full day back from Italy, seeking to show that despite his absence he’s in command of a controversy that has inflamed some city residents. The buck stops here, he said, detailing efforts the city has already taken to overhaul the NYPD, most of them before Garner’s death.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 02:15:54 +0000