Former NYPD commissioner bashes de Blasio over 'atrocious,' 'outrageous' bid to enforce social distancing
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former NYPD commissioner Bernard Kerik slammed New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday's "Ingraham Angle" for continuing to request that police officers enforce his social distancing order.
"I think it's atrocious. I think it's outrageous that the mayor would put the cops, the men and women in law enforcement in a position to do this," Kerik said, adding that the order "contradicts everything you want to think about with regard to community relations [and] it puts the cops in a position where they have to confront people for things that aren't really laws."
Host Laura Ingraham noted to Kerik that Police Benevolent Association boss Pat Lynch has warned New York City could "fall apart" if enforcement continues, a sentiment with which Kerik agreed.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He added that if enforcement efforts lead to an altercation, individual officers may get sued for potentially violating civil liberties.
Kerik also hit de Blasio for trying to blame President Trump for the devastation of the city by the pandemic while simultaneously attempting to use potential federal bailout money to recoup financial losses the city has suffered under his governance.
"I think the mayor forgets [that] the mayor is responsible for New York City," he said. "Not the president, the mayor." Kerik noted that former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani kept a plaque on his desk that read "I'm responsible," which later became a motto of self-accountability as the city recovered from the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
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"[Giuliani] had to prepare for the crisis. He had to work on the response, the rescue, the recovery, the investigation ... not just calling out the president and saying 'You will give me this,'" Kerik said. "[De Blasio] is just trying to take all the money he can get to bail himself out from his prior lunacy."
Kerik added that too many political leaders don't feel the same accountability when they order extensive lockdowns and business shutdowns, specifically calling out New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a former Goldman Sachs employee with a net worth of millions of dollars.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"[He] doesn't give a damn about the people in New Jersey that have to live paycheck to paycheck," Kerik said of Murphy, adding, "these mayors and governors are breaking people -- mentally, financially, professionally."