Following the circulation of footage capturing another violent social distancing-related arrest at the hands of NYPD officers, Mayor Bill de Blasio has defended the department's actions.
When speaking to reporters on Tuesday, per Gothamist, de Blasio was asked about the arrest of 20-year-old Stephon Scott. Footage of the arrest shows officers wrestling Scott to the ground, with one officer eventually punching him in the head and waving his baton at witnesses. The involved officers, as noted in the report, are visibly not following proper mask-wearing guidelines themselves:
"I want to caution that any time an officer asks someone to observe social distancing or put on a mask, the response should be to follow the instruction of the officer," de Blasio said on Tuesday. "Respect goes both ways."
Elsewhere during the press conference on COVID-19, de Blasio referenced his previous comments of disapproval regarding another recent social distancing-related arrest in which involved officer Francisco Garcia was stripped of his gun and badge as an internal investigation was launched.
"We look at every incident carefully . . . When I see something I think is inappropriate, I'm gonna say it," de Blasio said Tuesday.
No mask? No problem except if you’re Black or Brown pic.twitter.com/hzyAL53KHd
To file a complaint of police misconduct with the Civilian Complaint Review Board of NYC regarding the actions of an NYPD officer, use this form.
