New York City mayoral candidate Andrew Yang criticized the “defund the police” movement following a Saturday shooting in Times Square that wounded three bystanders.
Yang cited a need to address the city’s rising crime rate during a Sunday appearance near the site of the shooting.
“The truth is that New York City cannot afford to defund the police,” Yang said, according to a report by the New York Post.
The former presidential candidate said that city leadership needs to focus on addressing violent and petty crime, in addition to homelessness. Yang also directed a message to the city’s police department, expressing the need for their role in ensuring public safety.
“Nothing works in our city without public safety, and for public safety, we need the police,” he said. “My message to the NYPD is this: New York needs you. Your city needs you. We need you to do your jobs professionally, responsibly, and justly.”
Investigators say the Saturday shooting was an escalation of an argument that broke out among a group of men.
Three victims, including a four-year-old girl, were hit by stray bullets. Police did not recover a gun at the scene of the incident. The injuries suffered by the victims were not fatal. As of Sunday, the suspect remains at large.
Yang is leading the polls along with former police officer Eric Adams for the June 22 mayoral primary. The victor of the race will be slated to succeed incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is unable to run for a third term due to term limits. De Blasio’s tenure will end on Dec. 31, 2021.
The summer Democratic primary will be the first citywide election to use the new ranked-choice voting system, letting voters select their preference of up to five candidates for mayor and other offices.
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Ballots will then be tallied by first, second, third, fourth, and fifth choices, which will remove the need for runoff elections.
