New York mayor warns police officers against political activism while on duty

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday that “ANY NYPD officer promoting ANY political agenda while on duty will suffer the consequences,” and retweeted a message from the Department of New York Police (NYPD) claiming that police should “remain non-political”.

“We will react immediately, this will not be tolerated,” added the mayor.

NYPD News retweeted on Sunday a video filmed in Flatbush, a neighborhood in the New York borough of Brooklyn, in which NYPD agents repeat “Trump 2020” over the loudspeaker of their patrol car on the night of Saturday through Sunday, as early voting has just started in the city for the US presidential election.

“We are aware of this video, and it is being investigated by the Brooklyn South Investigative Unit,” NYPD News added.

This video was first posted on Twitter by Talia Jane, who identifies as a freelance journalist. Police “pulled over when someone started filming, but couldn’t resist the temptation of one last (slogan), in violation of NYPD policy on promoting a candidate during hours of service, ”she said in her tweet.

NYPD chief Terence Monahan said on Tuesday that the department would be devoting more resources to elections this year than in previous years, due to the sensitive nature of this presidential race.

In particular, agents were deployed to monitor the 88 polling stations dedicated to early voting. On November 3, presidential polling day, officers will also be deployed to monitor the city’s 1,201 polling stations, including 708 public schools and several new polling stations in Madison Square Garden, Manhattan’s Lincoln Center and the Barclays. Brooklyn Center.

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