Mayor de Blasio chided the NYPD in a tweet Friday morning for arresting a food delivery man in Upper Manhattan after the city’s curfew had gone into effect, despite him being considered an “essential worker.”
The mayor said arrests of essential workers by cops “must stop” as the city continues to enforce an 8 p.m. curfew to quell looting.
“Just got off the phone with @NYPDShea after seeing the troubling video of a delivery worker arrested by police while doing his job,” the mayor wrote.
“This is NOT acceptable and must stop. Food delivery is essential work and is EXEMPTED from the curfew,” he added.
An NYPD spokesperson said in an email they detained a deliveryman on the Upper West Side of Manhattan Thursday evening, but let him go after checking his credentials.
The mayor, a notorious critic of New York journalists, also said he would “protect” the rights of reporters covering protests in the city.
“Same goes for journalists covering protests and out doing their jobs,” he wrote.
“They are essential workers, too. We WILL protect their rights. The public depends on the information they provide. Will get NYPD to fix this immediately,” he added.
