Mayor de Blasio on Wednesday focused blame on Human Resources Administration peace officers for a disturbing takedown of a mother clutching her baby — even though NYPD cops were involved in the controversial struggle, including one who brandished a stun gun at a crowd near the confrontation.
“It’s unbelievable to me that people who had the title peace officer would do this to a woman and her baby,” de Blasio said.
Two HRA peace officers have been placed on modified duty after the incident in which the woman’s baby was ripped from her arms. No NYPD officers have seen a duty change — nor direct criticism in a struggle that was videotaped and went viral.
“I’m only issuing an opinion on one piece, and there’s a full investigation going on both on the HRA side and the NYPD side. I believe that by the time NYPD arrived, the situation was already out of hand and should not have been,” de Blasio said.
The video of the chaotic arrest of Jazmine Headley, 23, shows at least four uniformed officers surrounding her; three of them appear to be involved in the physical altercation, along with a security guard. Two of those officers are police officers, who unlike HRA peace officers, are carrying guns and stun guns. One of them is wearing an NYPD hat.
Two videos from different angles show both NYPD police officers tugging, sometimes wildly, at Headley as she grips her child. It also shows a police officer pointing a stun gun at a growing crowd.
Shortly after he put the blame for the incident on the peace officers, de Blasio held a second press conference at City Hall to announce a new contract for NYC Housing Authority workers, alongside Teamsters Local 237 President Greg Floyd, who also represents 80 HRA peace officers.
Floyd, who hadn’t been previously aware that de Blasio had just blamed the peace officers, stayed behind when the press conference was over and ripped into the mayor.
“You can’t blame peace officers because they make less money and you fear the PBA for what went on,” Floyd said, alluding to the mayor’s contentious history with the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, adding: “And when the investigation is over, we will find out what it is, who it is, and where we go from there.”
But PBA head Patrick Lynch also blamed HRA workers.
"Thus far the investigation shows that New York City police officers acted properly, that HRA officers, after police officers calmed and de-escalated, then escalated it."
"Police officers were put in a difficult position once that HRA officer grabbed that woman who was attempted to leave and put her to the ground,” Lynch said. “Police officers had no choice but to try to protect that baby and then place that person under arrest at the behest of HRA."
WITH MIKEY LIGHT