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Ex-NYC Mayor de Blasio deliberately held back cops during George Floyd protests, new Melissa DeRosa book claims
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top aide Melissa DeRosa has claimed that then-Mayor Bill de Blasio deliberately failed to deploy enough cops during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in New York…
nypost.com
Ex-NYC Mayor de Blasio deliberately held back cops during George Floyd protests, new Melissa DeRosa book claims
By
Carl Campanile
Published Oct. 22, 2023, 6:55 p.m. ET
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top aide Melissa DeRosa has claimed that then-Mayor Bill de Blasio deliberately failed to deploy enough cops during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in New York City because he feared violent clashes between the NYPD and protesters would embarrass him.
Like many other issues, how to handle the protests that erupted over the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota triggered disagreements between Cuomo and de Blasio, recounts DeRosa in her forthcoming memoir, “What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis.”
“We learned that a high-ranking member of the police union had reached out directly to the governor that morning with disturbing information: he believed that de Blasio, fearful of more police clashes with protesters going viral on video, was purposefully not deploying additional bodies,” DeRosa writes, according to an excerpt obtained by The Post.
“As a result, knowing they were outnumbered, officers were unwilling to take on the looters.”
DeRosa recalled a conference call conversation Cuomo had with de Blasio and then-Police Commissioner Dermot Shea in which the top cop reported that he had “only 4,000 officers on duty,” outnumbered by 5,000 protesters.
“The governor’s eyes widened in disbelief at what, to him, amounted to a staggering admission of malpractice. Shea had just confirmed what the governor had been told and feared; the city had deliberately minimized deployment,” DeRosa, the secretary – or chief of staff – to the governor, said.
4 Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top aide Melissa DeRosa has claimed that then-Mayor Bill de Blasio deliberately failed to deploy enough cops during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests.AP
4 De Blasio feared violent clashes between the NYPD and protesters would embarrass him.
De Blasio and Shea decided to double the police presence to 8,000 and eventually, after some back and forth, the governor and mayor agreed to impose a curfew to curtail the protests.
At one point, authorities estimated that 450 stores were vandalized throughout the city during the widespread unrest that spring and summer.
“In the city, de Blasio made clear that, despite the deteriorating situation, he neither needed nor wanted support from the state police or the National Guard. The governor kept the channels of communication open, speaking directly with rank-and-file members of the NYPD and their union officials to get their perspective on what was going wrong,” DeRosa, said.
“I told [DeBlasio deputy mayor Emma Wolfe] that, based on conversations the governor was having with law enforcement on the ground, he believed strongly that the NYPD didn’t have enough police officers on the street,” she said.
DeRosa also said de Blasio was influenced by the “far left” whose mantra following Floyd’s killing was “defund the police.”
4 De Blasio and a former police commissioner decided to double the police presence to 8,000 and eventually to impose a curfew to curtail the protests.AP
“It was ill-advised and stupid, but that didn’t stop extreme-left elected officials from taking up the mantra. The mayor took it a step further, attempting to lead the charge by announcing he would cut $1 billion from the NYPD operating budget and another $500 million from its capital budget,” DeRosa said.
“Now de Blasio was caught between the reality of needing officers to ensure the city didn’t devolve into complete pandemonium and not wanting to alienate his political base. The governor knew it and was hell-bent on not allowing de Blasio’s politics to interfere with public safety.”
The protests grew more unruly that June after Floyd’s death was deemed a homicide by the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office in Minneapolis.
“The crowds were getting more and more aggressive, and so was the NYPD,” DeRosa recalled.
“Looters again ran through Midtown Manhattan, smashing windows and grabbing whatever merchandise they could. And there were no police within sight to stop them. I watched the television footage in shock. Where were the additional law-enforcement bodies we had agreed to hours earlier?” she said.
“Cable news ran wall-to-wall coverage of the iconic Macy’s storefront in Herald Square and Rockefeller Center, both covered in smashed glass.”
4 Protesters hold signs on Bedford Avenue in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Stephen Yang
Something had to be done, DeRosa writes, as then-President Donald Trump threatening to send soldiers into cities that refused to stop the looting.
DeRosa said City Hall was upset when Cuomo called out the unchecked looting as a disgrace.
“But the mayor now realized both the practical and the political reality: the chaos was doing more damage to him than offending the Far Left would. That night, the streets were flooded with NYPD. Arrests and looting dropped dramatically. That mattered far more than any bruised egos or negative press about the `feud’ between the governor and the mayor,” she wrote.
De Blasio directed a query of DeRosa’s account to his former adviser, Peter Ragone, who said it was Cuomo’s team that put politics over public safety.
“It was clear to everyone that the Cuomo folks were in cahoots with SBA (Sergeants Benevolent Association) President and Trump guy Ed Mullins. They shared an interest in putting politics over the interest of New Yorkers,” Ragone said on Sunday.
“The NYPD had all the resources it needed to handle difficult situations despite having no support from the state,” added Ragone, calling the George Floyd protests one of the “most difficult periods in New York history.”