Left-wing New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio offered lavish praise of the New York Police Department Wednesday in the wake of a deadly Islamic terror attack in the city, a striking contrast from critical remarks de Blasio has made about cops in the past.
“We have such pride in the NYPD and we see them on duty and we know they are the very best,” de Blasio said at a press conference a day after the truck attack, allegedly by Uzbek national Sayfullo Habibullaevic Saipov, left eight people dead.
Saipov was stopped by Officer Ryan Nash, who confronted and shot him. Saipov was injured but not killed and is recovering in hospital.
De Blasio described Nash’s actions as “extraordinary” and said his actions gave people faith in their police force.
“The NYPD yesterday showed us once again how much New Yorkers can rely on them and I want to commend Officer Ryan Nash,” he said.
The remarks are in stark contrast with previous statements de Blasio has made about police. The hard-left mayor has been accused of pushing an anti-cop agenda that has put officers in danger and has stoked up tensions between police and minority communities.
After the death of Eric Garner in 2014, de Blasio said he had talked to his biracial son Dante about the “dangers that he may face” with cops.
“We’ve had to literally train him, as families have all over this city for decades, in how to take special care in any encounter he has with the police officers who are there to protect him,” he said.
“I’ve had to worry over the years. Chirlane’s had to worry. Is Dante safe each night? There are so many families in this city who feel that each and every night. Is my child safe? … Are they safe from the very people they want to have faith in as their protectors?” he continued.
In 2015, police present at the funerals of two murdered NYPD officers turned their backs on de Blasio as he gave his remarks.
“I turned my back last week on [de Blasio] and I will continue to turn my back whenever I hear him speak, because he disrespected me, Officer Ramos, and Officer Liu when he said he warned his son, Dante, to be wary of cops,” a cop told the New York Post.
Some officers also turned their backs in July, when de Blasio gave the eulogy at the funeral of murdered Officer Miosotis Familia. Cops were furious that he had skipped town the day after she was shot, traveling to Germany to be part of the protests at the G-20 summit.
Adam Shaw is a Breitbart News politics reporter based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
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