Mayor de Blasio gets a bit of religion and is right on this. Let’s hope Al Sharpton does not twist his arm to try to have him change his position on the legislation.
We still worry that his “religion” may be short lived, but live in the hope that it isn’t.
From the linked NY Post story:
Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday said for the first time that he would block the City Council from enacting a law making it a crime for cops to use chokeholds.
The controversial practice is already barred by NYPD regulations.
But police critics, outraged at the death of Eric Garner during an arrest on Staten Island last summer, are pushing for stricter measures.
A bill introduced in the council two months ago would make cops who employ chokeholds subject to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine.
De Blasio expressed reservations about the bill when it first came up.
On Tuesday, he went a step further. “The mayor would veto the chokehold bill as it is currently drafted were it to reach his desk,” said spokesman Phil Walzak.
New?
Police brutality: a new conservative value.
The bill seems rather worthless. The cop isn’t going to get arrested for using it, and wouldn’t be indicted in any case. But opposing it is even worse.
Even if it were a crime, what would be the likelihood that a cop would be criminally prosecuted, convicted, and imprisoned for using an illegal chokehold? Especially if the victim lived.