De Blasio Dismisses Police Union Rhetoric on Eric Garner as ‘Nothing New’
Jillian Jorgensen
Mayor Bill de Blasio brushed aside scathing comments from police union leaders who slammed officials for not supporting cops and the medical examiner’s office for ruling the death of Eric Garner a homicide — calling the rhetoric “nothing new.”
“Union leaders will say what union leaders say. That is historic, that’s been going on for decades,” Mr. de Blasio said. “We have a job to do. We are going to do our job. I don’t let the rhetoric of union leaders stand in the way of getting the job done.”
Mr. de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton have vowed to retrain all of the city’s cops in how to approach using force and other issues in the wake of Garner’s death, which the medical examiner’s office ruled a homicide caused by the use of a chokehold. Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch slammed that decision as “blatantly political,” but Mr. de Blasio praised the office’s work.
“I have a lot of respect for the medical examiner’s office in New York City. It is the gold standard in this country for the work they do, the science they use to come up with their answers, and I think that should be respected in itself,” Mr. de Blasio said.
Read more at http://observer.com/2014/08/de-blasio-dismisses-police-union-rhetoric-on-eric-garner-as-nothing-new/#ixzz39YDvzZgE
