Why Bill De Blasio’s Comments on Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision Are Full of Shit

Here’s
what Bill de Blasio, New York City’s Democratic mayor, said today
about the grand jury decision not to indict the cop who put Eric
Garner in a fatal chokehold:

These goals – of bringing police and community closer together
and changing the culture of law enforcement — are why we have
introduced so many reforms this year.  It starts at the top
with Commissioner Bratton – a strong, proven change agent. We
have dramatically reduced the overuse and abuse of stop-and-frisk.
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 to reduce
low-level arrests, and we have launched a new pilot program for
body cameras for officers to improve transparency and
accountability.

You can read the rest of his bloviating
here. Keep in mind de Blasio is not a community organizer or
even a council man, he is the mayor of New York City, the chief
executive of the municipal government. In days gone by, you could
say the buck “stopped with him.”

Bill Bratton, the NYPD commissioner, was also a commissioner
during the tenure of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a very different kind
of “change agent” than the kind needed to bring about police
reforms. As for body cameras—if the NYPD has the resources to
deploy plainclothes officers on Staten Island that keep an eye out
for loose cigarettes, it surely has the resources to put a body
camera on every cop.

More specifically, however, de Blasio has already rejected the
kind of reforms that would substantively improve police-community
relations—changes that would roll back New York City’s nanny state
and the laws that bring cops into often contentious interactions
with residents, over things like loose, untaxed cigarettes,

barbecuing in front of the house, or, yes,
possession of a little bit of marijuana.

From my column on de Blasio’s comments in the
wake of Eric Garner’s death:

In a press
conference this week New York City’s progressive mayor,
Democrat Bill de Blasio, insisted the police department would
continue to “strictly enforce” such laws as the ones that led to
the series of controversial police interactions. “The law is the
law,” the mayor said. These kinds of laws, however,
disproportionately affect the same kind of people—the poor and
marginalized—that De Blasio and his ideological fellow-travelers
adamantly claim to defend. Absent brutal encounters with police
violations of petty laws can
lead to thousands of dollars in fines, multiple court
appearances, and even jail time. What amounts to a “minor
inconvenience” in the eyes of the privileged political class that
pushes these laws can have profound negative effects on the lives
of normal people. Coupled with the threat of bodily harm or even
death during the initial police encounter, such “petty” crimes
become anything but for the people the government targets in its
enforcement efforts.

At the same press conference, meanwhile, de Blasio’s “agent of
change,” Bratton, insisted New York City residents “correct their
behavior” when being approached by cops, explaining that that’s
what democracy was. 

Reason is your voice in debates about
politics, culture, and ideas. Our annual Webathon is underway and
your tax-deductible gift will help us fight against big government,
crony capitalism, the drug war, and so much more. For details
on giving levels and swag, go here
now.