‘Twisted the words’: NYPD hits back at de Blasio over murder victim Tessa Majors and marijuana enforcement

“What I am understanding is that [Majors] was in the park to buy marijuana,” Mullins said, later adding, “We have a common denominator: marijuana. If you think about that, we don’t enforce marijuana laws anymore. We are basically hands-off on the enforcement of marijuana.”

His remarks shocked some, including members of her family, who found the remarks to be an attempt to blame the victim.

“The remarks by Sergeants Benevolent Association president Ed Mullins we find deeply inappropriate, as they intentionally or unintentionally direct blame onto Tess, a young woman, for her own murder.”

They added, “We would ask Mr. Mullins not to engage in such irresponsible public speculation, just as the NYPD asked our family not to comment as it conducts the investigation.”

De Blasio issued a similar statement about Mullins’s remarks, tweeting, “Think of Tessa’s parents, her friends. This is heartless. It’s infuriating,” de Blasio tweeted. “We don’t shame victims in this city.”

The police union did not appreciate de Blasio’s condemnation. In a statement posted to Twitter, the union blamed the mayor for the city’s crime.

“Heartless is you allowing lawlessness to run the city of NY. You’ve weaken the NYPD. This young lady should still be alive. Tell the TRUTH Bill. Tell New Yorkers what really happens in the streets of NYC. This girl was an innocent victim. YOU have created chaos,” the tweet said. “Tell the truth!”

In another tweet, the union added, “The girl is a victim plain and simple, NYC is becoming a cesspool thanks to the Mayor. Shame on DeBlasio.”

On Monday night, Mullins responded to de Blasio’s criticism himself in a letter to union members, writing, “Mayor de Blasio and other critics have taken and twisted the words.”

“As I thought was clear and obvious, in no way did I intend to suggest on any level that some type of blame toward Tessa Majors was warranted,” he said, apologizing the Majors family and insisting that his remarks were intended to convey “that non-enforcement of minor crimes in this City has contributed to an undisclosed rise in the rate of crime in many of the City’s neighborhoods, Morningside Park included.”

He added, “My intent was to illustrate that the City administration continues to deceive its citizens into believing that it is a safe City, yet the truth is that crime is on the rise, and neighborhoods which used to be safe are no longer safe.”

The Sergeants Benevolent Association used Majors’s murder to hit de Blasio prior to Mullins’s controversial remarks, tweeting, “No 18 year old college student deserves to be MURDERED in NYC because the rule of law means nothing either. You continue to ignore common sense policing & support the vile protesters who scream of OVER POLICING. Well Mr Mayor who speaks for murder victim Tessa Major? Not you!”

Mullins’s claim that Majors, a student at Barnard College, was searching for marijuana prior to her murder has not been confirmed by detectives on the case, who have released very few details beyond the arrest of the 13-year-old boy connected to the murder.

De Blasio and the New York City Police Department have had a contentious relationship for years. In 2014, thousands of officers turned their backs on de Blasio during the funeral of police officer Rafael Ramos, who was murdered while on duty.