New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea railed against lawmakers Thursday for “going too far” to “handcuff” the NYPD by tapping into anti-cop sentiment from the George Floyd protests to further their own longstanding political agendas.
“I think there is absolutely valid causes about what came out of Minneapolis … but I think that people are using that just cause to advance agendas and agendas that existed long before the incident happened,” Shea said on CNN Thursday morning.
“I think we’ve crossed a tipping point on many levels in terms of taking tools away from the police that maybe these last two months it’s just a completely different situation where it’s a toxic environment,” Shea said.
The strong statements came a day after Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a package of police reforms into law, including a ban on chokeholds — while acknowledging the law would make cops’ jobs harder, the New York Post reports.