NYC Mayor Eric Adams apologizes for calling white police officers 'crackers' and bragging about outperforming them in 2019 video
New York City Mayor Eric Adams apologized for a 2019 video where he called white police officers 'crackers.'
Adams, 61, was caught bragging about being an 'unbelievably' good police officer compared to his white colleagues at a 2019 event in East Harlem where he was announcing he was going to run for mayor.
'Every day in the police department, I kicked those crackers’ a**,' he said in the recently resurfaced video. 'Man, I was unbelievable in the police department with 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement.'
At a press conference on Friday, which was unrelated to the 2019 incident, the new mayor apologized for his 'inappropriate' comments.
'I definitely apologize,' he said. 'Inappropriate comments should not have been used.
'Someone asked me a question using that comment and playing on that word. I responded in that comment, but clearly, these comments should not have been used, and I apologize not only to those who heard it, but to New Yorkers because they should expect more from me. That was inappropriate.'
NYC Mayor Eric Adams, 61, (pictured in 2019) bragged about outperforming white colleagues in the NYPD before calling them 'crackers' at an event in 2019
In the 2019 video posted by Thomas Lopez-Pierre - who called himself a 'proud' Adams voter and founder of the Black Lives Matter Real Estate Forum - Adams also took a shot at black people at the event as he pressed his case to become mayor.
In part of his speech, he referenced the person who went before him, who spoke about marijuana use, but didn't clarify who exactly he was speaking about.
He said: 'I'd rather be wearing white all day, grow a beard, smoke some weed, and leave this stuff alone,' he said at the time. 'These negroes that wake every day and don’t like themselves, they are going to beat me up.'
Adams also challenged others in the black community who questioned whether he should be running to replace Bill de Blasio.
The video was posted by Thomas Lopez-Pierre, the founder of Black Lives Matter Real Estate Forum on Tuesday. Lopez-Pierre, who voted for Adams, defended the mayor, saying that's 'how black people talk'
'The people who say, "Where’s our real black leaders?" They’re going to say: "Who’s Eric? Why does Eric think he should be mayor?" Well, negro, you run, you run. Go raise the $7million dollars.
'They know what I'm about, they know what I'm going to do as the mayor of the City of New York. Listen, we're not going to play this game.'
The video resurfaced after Adams attended the emotional funerals for NYPD Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora, who were shot dead in East Harlem.
A police source told the New York Post that officers felt 'attacked' and one quipped: 'I’m a cracker supervisor technically.'
Pat Lynch, the President of Police Benevolent Association - the NYPD's largest police union - said he had spoken to Adams about the video and ultimately didn't find any harm in the racially-tinged rhetoric.
'A few seconds of video will not define our relationship. We have a lot of work to do together to support our members on the streets,' Lynch said.
'We have spent far too many hours together in hospital emergency rooms these past few weeks, and we’ve worked together for decades before that.'
Paul DiGiacomo, the president of the Detectives Endowment Association, also agreed with Lynch.
'Something seen in a short video on social media should not be used to judge an incident in its entirety. Actions on the other hand speak volumes — and we’ve seen that in the mayor’s support over the past weeks,' DiGiacomo said
'Mayor Adams has expressed his regrets. We will hold him to his word.'
Despite posting the controversial video, Lopez-Pierre wrote it off as 'how black people talk.'
Adams (pictured yesterday) apologized for his 'inappropriate' comments at an unrelated press conference on Friday. He was also backed up by the presidents of the Police Benevolent Association and Detectives Endowment Association, who said they still supported the mayor, despite the comment
'To us, it was family. We were having a conversation with family,' he told the New York Daily News.
However, he is critical of Adams' new anti-crime plan, which Lopez-Pierre said is more focused on hiring more officers than creating economic opportunities for African-Americans in the city, the NY Daily News reported.
'More cops are going to get killed because black men do not have opportunity. I think it’s a great plan for white people to feel falsely safe,' Lopez-Pierre said.
However, not everyone is letting Adams off the hook.
Curtis Sliwa, who lost to Adams in a landslide in November's mayoral election, called Adams out for using the racial slur against white people.
'Here’s the guy who was so quick to call anyone who disagrees with him racist,' Sliwa said. 'Whenever he had an adversary, they were always racist. Well, this is clearly a racist statement, so what else have you said, Eric?'
Crime is up drastically in the Big Apple, with overall crime up 37 per cent and shooting victims are up 31 per cent
Adams met with President Joe Biden, 79, on Thursday, who praised him for his anti-crime agenda to bring down gun violence.
The president vowed to be Adams's 'partner' and wants to 'help every major city follow New York’s lead.'
In a crackdown against ghost guns - where parts can be bought on the internet and would not be registered in databases - the president said the federal government will prosecute those who are caught with the weapon.
The NYPD repossessed a large number of ghost guns last year.
In addition, Adams announced earlier that part of his anti-crime plan is to increase the number of officers and bring back plainclothes cops.
Crime is up drastically in the Big Apple, with overall crime up 37 percent and shooting victims are up 31 percent in January as compared to the same period in 2021.
Reviewed by Your Destination
on
February 05, 2022
Rating:
No comments