NYC Democrat Mayor de Blasio Sympathetic for Eric Garner

MOSCOW, December 4 (Sputnik) — Bill De Blasio, the mayor of New York City, has changed his opinion on the details of Eric Garner’s, by aligning himself with the street protesters in a populist attempt at capitalizing on the widespread public skepticism of America’s law enforcement.

As early as this July, de Blasio spoke favorably of the actions of law enforcement in the Eric Garner case, saying that “breaking a law is breaking a law, and it has to be addressed,” as quoted by the New York Daily News. Previously, de Blasio chose to defend the police, namely, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, who the protestors claim is  responsible for the inappropriate police action against the 43-year-old Garner, allegedly causing his death. De Blasio’s statements displeased some NY residents and now he seems to have learned his lesson.

In a statement released on December 3, at the height of the NYC street protests, de Blasio suddenly aligned himself with the protestors, saying, in particular, that he intends to “bring police and community closer together and change the culture of law enforcement” by a NYPD reform, which, among other things, will provide for a reduction in “low-level arrests”.

“We have initiated a comprehensive plan to retrain the entire NYPD to reduce the use of excessive force and to work with the community. We have changed our marijuana policy,” de Blasio says. “These are the long term reforms we are making to ensure we don’t endure tragedies like this one again in the future.”

Thus, according to de Blasio, turning a blind eye on petty crime like unauthorized use of weed or selling cigarettes without a license, will prevent habitual criminals from death in police hands. The Mayor also said a body camera program has been launched for police officers “to improve transparency and accountability.”