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| De Blasio: I won't apologize to cops for my 'fundamental beliefs' |
| 2015-01-16 |
| [NYDAILYNEWS] Mayor de Blasio said he wont apologize to cops for saying what he thinks but seized on the safety improvements pushed for by dissident delegates at a Police Benevolent Association meeting that turned into a near-brawl as a way to heal the rift with the NYPD. That's okay, the cops aren't apologizing to you either... You cant apologize for your fundamental beliefs, de Blasio said Wednesday when asked if hed acknowledge any missteps in his fight with cops, who have expressed outrage at his comment that he taught his biracial teen son to be careful when dealing with police and other statements. The things that I have said were based on my beliefs, the truth as I know it, he said. Can we do a better job communicating, and listening, and deepening an understanding of what our officers need? Yes. De Blasio was buoyed by reports of a furious conflict within the Patrolmens Benevolent Association whose leaders are some of his fiercest critics. A PBA meeting Tuesday degenerated into a screaming match, where cops pushed and shoved each other, after opponents of union president Pat Lynch said cops really need better equipment and more officers to keep them safe on the street - not an apology from the mayor. De Blasio sided with the dissident faction, calling their concerns reasonable and promising to find ways to improve officer safety. Everything that's been put on the table there - vests, vehicles - those are all valid issues that we want to find solutions on, he said. It doesn't surprise me at all that more and more officers would offer different views on what needs to be done. I think where there's an emerging consensus is that we have to focus on officer safety as part of the package of reforms that we are making. De Blasio also wasnt surprised that only a small fraction of cops signed pledges asking him to stay away from their funerals and has long thought that many rank and file cops arent on the same page as their fiercely critical union heads. I always assumed there was a real diversity of opinion. And I think it is more on display now, he said, again raising the safety issue. Theres going to be emotion. Theres going to be rhetoric. Theres going to be some things said that shouldnt be said. But I think underneath that there are some real issues that we can address. De Blasio took a much harder line against protesters who have spouted anti-police rhetoric, making a point in unprompted remarks of condemning groups behind protests that are planned for Thursday. The groups involved in those protests scheduled for tomorrow have a long history of unfortunately allowing some of their members to say really inappropriate, reprehensible things about our coppers. Things that I think are actually quite sick, de Blasio said. They may have a constitutional right to chant their chants, but they're wrong. The vast majority of protesters from everything I've seen are peaceful protesters, they respect the police but want to see a change in policies. But there's a small group that has consistently used absolutely unacceptable, reprehensible language towards officers. They may have a constitutional right to do it, but they should stop doing it, the mayor went on. De Blasio was referring to groups like Peoples Power Assemblies, OWS-S17 and Occu-Evolve, which have protests against the lack of an indictment in the Eric Garner case planned for Thursday, aides said. His unsolicited slam of the protest groups was a departure from the tone hes taken in the past, when hes bristled at being asked about inflammatory chants and blamed the media for bringing them up. It followed another nod to cop concerns his pledge Tuesday to veto a bill to make chokeholds a crime, which he reiterated Wednesday. Imani Henry, an organizer with the Peoples Power Assemblies, stood by the groups protests and hit back at the mayor. People are simply stating facts. The police are murdering and killing people in our communities, he said. Thats not inflammatory. That is an actual fact. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 He is useless. |
| Posted by: newc 2015-01-16 23:24 |
| #2 noun. derogatory term; "moron".You are such a choad!You choad! See more words with the same meaning: uncool person, jerk, asshole |
| Posted by: Flong the Rash3578 2015-01-16 09:25 |
| #1 He's 'fundamentally' a choad. |
| Posted by: bigjim-CA 2015-01-16 00:48 |