By: Jesse Luke
After several rough incidents between the police and citizens, Mayor de Blasio announced during his daily press conference recently, he will increase its civilian “social distancing ambassadors” from 1,000 to 2,300 by next weekend.
“More and more the emphasis will be on a communicative encouraging approach through these social distancing ambassadors,” de Blasio said
One recent incident in the Lower East Side of Manhattan grabbed headlines with a viral video.
Last weekend a violent arrests of three people for social distancing violations in the East Village, resulted in the opening of an NYPD investigation after video of the arrests showed cops throwing people against walls, tackling them to the ground, threatening people with tasers and punching one man in the face, Patch reported.
“So, we’re going to increase intensely the number of public servants who are out there educating, providing face coverings, reminding people of the rules, helping people to get it right,” de Blasio stated.
This increased “army” of civilian social-distancing ambassadors is designed to keep NYPD out of these kinds of confrontations.
“What we don’t need is anything that goes beyond the proper enforcement of these rules turning into something else,” the mayor said at a press briefing Sunday.
“And we saw a very troubling video a few days back from the Lower East Side, an instance of the wrong approach to policing that was very alienating to so many people in this city.”
“I think they pull at people in a very real and painful way and remind us of things that were too common for too long that are not acceptable,” he said of the troubling arrest.
“So, we’re going to increase intensely the number of public servants who are out there educating, providing face coverings, reminding people of the rules, helping people to get it right,” he said.
Recently 2 more videos circulated of violent confrontations between African Americans and NYPD over social distancing orders.
Patrick Lynch, leader of the Police Benevolent Association, on last week issued a statement calling for police to get out of social distancing enforcement. He claimed cops were being “thrown under the bus” after an “inevitable backlash”, Patch reported.
“As the weather heats up and the pandemic continues to unravel our social fabric, police officers should be allowed to focus on our core public safety mission,” he said in the statement. “If we don’t, the city will fall apart before our eyes.”
Anthony Beckford, a Brooklyn city council candidate and Black Lives Matter activist, argued that the social distancing arrests and summons are racially motivated, Patch pointed out
“This does not happen to white people who violate social distancing,” Beckford wrote on Twitter. “They are using the #pandemic as a weapon for further brutality. @NYCMayor @NYPDShea bring your rabid animals to heel!”
