‘This police officer unholstered his weapon only after his supervisor was nearly killed with a brick…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was quick to condemn a New York Police Department officer after a 12-second video clip surfaced in which the officer pulled his service piston on protesters.
The full video, however, shows that the officer had good reason to defend himself against violent looters who were attempting to beat him and his fellow officers in the streets.
The video de Blasio cited shows a brief scuffle between protesters and NYPD officers. At the end, an officer pulls out his pistol and points it at protesters.
A source shared this video, which he says he took at around 10 pm near near 12th and Broadway. It appears to show an NYPD officer pointing a gun at protesters outside the Strand pic.twitter.com/pCTNIYL7op
— Jake Offenhartz (@jangelooff) June 1, 2020
De Blasio slammed the officer and demanded that he turn in his gun and badge immediately.
“It is not the place of an officer to pull a gun in the middle of a crowd, knowing that there are peaceful protesters in that crowd. That is unacceptable, that is dangerous,” he said, according to WLNY-TV.
“That officer should have his gun and badge taken away today. There will be an investigation immediately to determine the larger consequences,” he added.
As it turns out, the video de Blasio relied upon was deceptively edited. The 27-second video, released by the Police Benevolent Association of New York City, shows the moments leading up to the officer in question pulling out his service weapon.
The video shows protesters throwing bricks at the line of officers and hitting his supervisor in the head so hard that the supervising officer fell to the ground.
Now we have the full story: this police officer unholstered his weapon only after his supervisor was nearly killed with a brick. #FactsMatter pic.twitter.com/6PzqgI991I
— NYC PBA (@NYCPBA) June 1, 2020
De Blasio has not updated his statement in light of this new information.