Thousands of Americans took to the streets in the summer of 2020, protesting the murder of George Floyd and demanding an end to police brutality.
Floyd was killed by Minnesota Police Department officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes.
There were protests in virtually every major city in the United States, including New York City, where the government disbanded plainclothes units.
NYC Mayor-elect Eric Adams has vowed to bring back the unit, however, prompting criticism from progressive activists.
BLM Leader Slams Adams
Hawk Newsome, the co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Greater New York, slammed Adams for promising to reintroduce plainclothes.
In an interview with New York Daily News, he said that "there will be riots, there will be fire and there will be bloodshed" if Adams follows through.
Newsome said that Adams’ promise "made me think about the death of Eric Garner, it made me think about the death of Breonna Taylor, it made me think of the death of George Floyd."
"And to think that Eric Adams is legitimately wanting to put our children in danger — it scares me," he added.
Adams' Response
Adams said on Friday that he stands by his words, and added that he has "no idea" why Democratic politicians haven’t condemned Newsome’s remarks.
"I think that this is an excellent moment for the local and state and federal Democratic Party to state: We could have justice without violence," Adams said.
"National, state and city electeds should stand up and say, ‘we will never allow anyone to make those comments,’ that there will be blood in our streets, because you know where that blood ends up? In the streets of our community," he added.
'Smoke And Mirrors'
Responding to Adams, Newsome said that the mayor-elect should focus on the issue at hand, instead of calling on other Democrats to condemn an activists.
"So he wants to make this a political circus. What I want is to stick to the issue — what’s the plan?" Newsome asked.
Though Adams wants to bring back plainclothes units, he has also said that it is imperative to ensure they aren’t staffed with "bad apple" cops.
According to Newsome, the mayor doesn’t actually have a real plan.
"Instead of talking about the issues, he is seeking to discredit an organization that has served the community. This is smoke and mirrors to cover up for the fact that he doesn’t have an actual articulate plan," he said.
de Blasio Chimes In
Outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio, who disbanded plainclothes units, said on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show that he disagrees with Adams.
"Commissioner Shea — who has been at this work now for, you know, most of 30 years — he felt that the unit as constructed was not only creating a disconnect with communities, and ill will and some bad incidents," de Blasio said, as reported by Spectrum News.
"He thought it was also not the best way to get guns off the street and the best way to have successful prosecutions. And he wanted more of those officers in uniform — same talented officers, doing the work a different way," he added.
]]>The Inquisitr
