The two mayors running for the Democratic presidential nomination currently face criticism over their relationships with local law enforcement within their respective cities.
Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are set to participate in the Democratic National Committee’s debates in Detroit next week, and both face lingering questions that could hamper their candidacies.
“History has proven that Democratic leadership has been responsible for increased violence and crime, reduced real estate values and economic development, and higher welfare rolls in urban cities. De Blasio and Buttigieg now want to take those leadership skills on a national level which would destroy this country,” former NYPD commissioner Bernie Kerik told the Washington Examiner.
Both South Bend and New York City have police forces under scrutiny by activist groups for separate incidents related to white officers in each city involved in physical altercations that led to the deaths of black men.
In New York City, demonstrators are protesting the decision not to indict the NYPD officer, Daniel Pantaleo, involved in the case of the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner. Following the Justice Department’s decision not to press charges against Pantaleo, de Blasio would not say whether Pantaleo should be fired.
“We thought the Justice Department — as it did for decades — was going to be the arbiter,” de Blasio said. “What we found out yesterday was something we literally have never seen in decades — that they did not literally take any responsibility.”
He added, “That is why we announced yesterday that we are no longer going to in any way [defer] to the Justice Department in making decisions about [NYPD] departmental charges.”
De Blasio, 58, said he expects the matter will be decided by NYPD commissioner James O’Neill. “I am not pre-judging, and I am not predicting,”
Critics of de Blasio, though, say the NYPD officers are disrespected by city residents who view the department without support from the mayor. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani went after de Blasio on Twitter after NYPD officers were doused with water and assaulted with a bucket yet never responded to their attackers.
“This disrespect for the uniform in NYC is result of a Democrat-Progressive (Retrogressive)-Socialist Mayor,” Giuliani tweeted Tuesday. “This is what happens with knee-jerk disrespect for police. It will only get worse until these Left-wing idiots are defeated.”
De Blasio responded, “When you disrespect our NYPD officers, you disrespect ALL New Yorkers. We don’t tolerate that in our city.” He added, “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”
NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins slammed de Blasio on Wednesday tweeting, “Save the BULLSHIT with the stats. You are the cause of attacks on the NYPD. You will NEVER be president of this great nation NEVER!”
In South Bend, police Sgt. Ryan O’Neill felt pressured to resign from his job after he fatally shot a black male suspect, Eric Logan, who was reportedly breaking into cars and wielded a knife at the officer back in June. According to law enforcement, Logan ignored commands from O’Neill to drop the weapon when he approached him, the Star Tribune reported.
However, O’Neil’s body camera was not on to back up his account of events causing critics of the police department to question the officer’s story. Buttigieg, 37, initially left the campaign trail last month to deal with the situation at home only to berated by angry local residents over the shooting.
Despite the mayor’s efforts to appease local activists via promises to address racial inequality, his resignation over the matter was already called for by demonstrators on July 1.
Additionally, the South Bend chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police president slammed Buttigieg on Tuesday for the low morale of its own officers after a report of “mass exodus” in their ranks surfaced.
“Morale around here has been terrible. We do nothing,” a long time veteran of the local police department told Fox News Tuesday.
