Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday he would like to see the New York Police Department knocking on doors in an effort to educate people against hateful conduct.
In response to concerns about anti-Asian sentiment, de Blasio encouraged New Yorkers to report any behavior they saw as anti-Asian or hateful or racist in any way. He went on to suggest that, even if such behavior was not necessarily criminal, a visit from the NYPD or another city agency might have a “sobering impact” on people and cause them to reconsider such behavior in the future. (RELATED: ‘He Can No Longer Serve As Governor’: De Blasio Calls On Cuomo To Resign)
Those who commit hateful but noncriminal conduct should be confronted by the NYPD, @NYCMayor @BilldeBlasio says:
“I assure you, if an NYPD officer calls you or shows up at your door to ask about something you did, that makes people think twice, and we need that.”
— Matthew Chayes (@chayesmatthew) March 18, 2021
“I think that has an educating impact on people; I think that has a sobering impact that we need.”
— Matthew Chayes (@chayesmatthew) March 18, 2021
“Even if something is not a criminal case, a perpetrator being confronted by the city, whether it’s NYPD or another agency, and being told that what they’ve done was very hurtful to another person—and could, if ever repeated, lead to criminal charges—that’s another important piece of the puzzle,” de Blasio said.
De Blasio went on to say the NYPD was uniquely equipped to handle such a mission, adding, “One of the things officers are trained to do is to give warnings. If someone has done something wrong, but not rising to a criminal level, it’s perfectly appropriate for an NYPD officer to talk to them to say, ‘that was not appropriate, and if you did that on a higher level, that would be a crime.’ I think that has an educating impact on people, I think that has a sobering impact that we need.”
Recent attacks at three massage parlors in Atlanta left eight people dead, six of which were of Asian decent. President Joe Biden called the attacks “very troubling.”