NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said Wednesday that large gatherings like an Orthodox funeral held in Brooklyn Tuesday night were endangering his police officers — as the mayor claimed he has a “long deep relationship with the orthodox Jewish community.”
Shea, who said a paltry 12 summonses were issued, also pushed back against criticism that other groups were holding similar gatherings.
“There was two funerals last weekend for members of the NYPD, we would normally have probably tens of thousands of people at that funeral, we had a handful,” Shea said of scaled down police officer funerals.
“People have to be accountable for their own actions, regardless of what neighborhood, ethnicity, where they come from, we cannot have what we had last night. We will not tolerate it.”
A visibly annoyed Shea said future gatherings will be broken up swiftly.
“It better not happen again, it can’t … we can talk about this to the cows come home,” Shea said. “It doesn’t get any crystal clear of this for me. You are putting my cops’ lives at risk, and it’s unacceptable.”
De Blasio defended himself against critics who have said the funerals are no different to large numbers of people streaming in and out of city parks on nice days.
“I have a long deep relationship with the orthodox Jewish community,” he said.
“And anyone who equates a small number of people around a blanket in a park with what we saw last night is entirely missing the point. We are talking about thousands of people in close proximity in one site, we will never ever allow something like that to go unchecked anywhere.”
Related Post:
- NYPD commissioner: Gatherings like Brooklyn funeral put cops’ ‘lives at risk’
- NYPD commissioner asks to stop the violence against cops
- NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea says he’s willing to remove cops from schools
- NYPD commissioner says cops who drove into group of protesters didn’t violate policy
- Tiger King star warns zoos could put animals at risk of coronavirus
- Empty classrooms could put kids at emotional risk, therapist says
- Hand gloves, carefree usage of face masks put public at risk of COVID-19 – Doctor
- Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Exit Put the Royal Family at Risk
- Crazed protesters ignite NYPD vehicle, throw trash and bottles at Brooklyn cops
- NYPD cops fatally shoot armed suspect in Brooklyn