President Donald Trump called out New York City Mayor and 2020 presidential contender Bill de Blasio over the attacks on New York Police Department officers that were captured on video and went viral online.
“We love our Law Enforcement Officers all around this great Country. What took place in NYC with water being tossed on NYPD officers was a total disgrace. It is time for Mayor Bill de Blasio to STAND UP for those who protect our lives and serve us all so well,” Trump wrote on Twitter on July 25.
“What took place was completely unacceptable, and will not be tolerated. Bill de Blasio should act immediately!” he added.
We love our Law Enforcement Officers all around this great Country. What took place in NYC with water being tossed on NYPD officers was a total disgrace. It is time for @NYCMayor @BilldeBlasio to STAND UP for those who protect our lives and serve us all so well…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2019
…What took place was completely unacceptable, and will not be tolerated. Bill de Blasio should act immediately!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 25, 2019
Video footage widely shared on social media showed police officers in New York being drenched in water. A number of men ran up to the officers and dumped buckets of water on them as they tried to arrest a person.
“There was cops responding to a disorderly group, chased them away from a hydrant,” NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan told the New York Post. “They dispersed, [and the cops] see a guy was wanted on a warrant. They know him because they know that neighborhood.”
“As they’re making that arrest, there were a couple guys who thought it was all right to throw water and a bucket at the cop,” Monahan added. “As usual, they scattered, but we have good information.”
Three suspects were arrested on Wednesday, with one reportedly being a member of a gang linked to the Crips.
The videos of cops being doused with water and having objects hurled at them as they made an arrest in #Harlem is reprehensible. NYC’s cops & communities have made remarkable progress — together — but EVERY New Yorker MUST show respect for our cops. They deserve nothing less. pic.twitter.com/mPtPPbUSGZ
— Chief Terence Monahan (@NYPDChiefofDept) July 22, 2019
Officials condemned the attacks.
“The videos of cops being doused with water and having objects hurled at them as they made an arrest in Harlem is reprehensible,” Monahan said soon after the videos were released. “NYC’s cops & communities have made remarkable progress—together—but EVERY New Yorker MUST show respect for our cops. They deserve nothing less.”
Vice President Mike Pence also took to Twitter to write that the conduct seen in the footage was “disgraceful.”
“President Trump and I will ALWAYS stand with the brave men & women of our law enforcement who serve on the thin blue line every day,” he added.
Completely unacceptable. A video from the 28 Precinct shows people interfering in an arrest by throwing water and objects at officers. The NYPD kept New Yorkers safe through the heatwave and last night’s outages. We won’t tolerate this kind of disrespect. NYPD is investigating. https://t.co/3Yg7f0eAs8
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) July 22, 2019
When you disrespect our NYPD officers, you disrespect ALL New Yorkers. We don’t tolerate that in our city.
The truth is crime’s NEVER been lower in New York City and that’s because we’re bridging the divide between police and communities — a divide @RudyGiuliani helped create. https://t.co/A303mUWl8Q
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) July 23, 2019
In a statement reacting to Monahan’s statement, Mayor de Blasio called what happened “completely unacceptable.”
“A video from the 28 Precinct shows people interfering in an arrest by throwing water and objects at officers. The NYPD kept New Yorkers safe through the heatwave and last night’s outages. We won’t tolerate this kind of disrespect. NYPD is investigating,” he said on Monday.
After former mayor Rudy Giuliani criticized de Blasio, the current mayor responded, saying the relationship between officers and the communities in the city was improving.
“The truth is crime’s NEVER been lower in New York City and that’s because we’re bridging the divide between police and communities—a divide @RudyGiuliani helped create,” wrote de Blasio.