Mayor Bill de Blasio issued an apology over the NYPD’s “excessive force” tactics during the George Floyd protests — but he refused to say exactly what he was sorry for.
Hizzoner’s ostensible mea culpa was full of generalities — and lacking specifics — on the heels of a Department of Investigation report that found cops’ excessive force against protesters created “heightened tensions” during the summer demonstrations.
“I read that report and I literally expressed my feelings after I read it,” de Blasio said. “It makes clear that we should’ve had a better strategy, that we should’ve understood some of the realities that were happening even if they were different, that we need to communicate better.”
The mayor was referring to a nearly seven-minute video message he tweeted Friday morning just as the DOI report dropped — in which he issues his first vague apology.
“I look back with remorse. I wish I had done better,” he says in the recording, adding that he’s reflected on handling of the protests in May and June. “I want everyone to understand that. And I’m sorry I didn’t do better. And I’ve learned a lot of valuable lessons. And I want our police department to do better. And I’m going to insist upon that.”
De Blasio’s explanation — or lack thereof — at his press conference late Friday morning was in response to a reporter who pointedly asked him “exactly what it is you’re apologizing for.”
Bill de Blasio NYC Mayor's Office“I don’t feel I did good enough, that’s why I apologized,” de Blasio added, again without offering specifics.
The 100-page DOI report, released Friday morning, highlights systemic issues within the NYPD during the mostly peaceful protests, which took place in the wake of Floyd’s death.
“NYPD use of force and crowd control tactics often failed to discriminate between lawful, peaceful protesters and unlawful actors, and contributed to the perception that officers were exercising force in some cases beyond what was necessary under the circumstances,” the city agency found.
“NYPD’s use of force on protesters — encirclement (commonly called ‘kettling’), mass arrests, baton and pepper spray use, and other tactics — reflected a failure to calibrate an appropriate balance between valid public safety or officer safety interests and the rights of protesters to assemble and express their views,” the report also found.
Later in the briefing, de Blasio again claimed to be holding himself accountable before vowing to accept the DOI’s recommendations.
NYPD officers make arrests during the protests against the death of George Floyd. Christopher Sadowski“I regret that I couldn’t do a better job speaking to the larger situation, that I didn’t understand some of the things that we needed to change right away in that moment,” he said. “But I see it now. This report shows us what we need to do differently going forward and I’m going to take that as a blessing.”
