A rankled NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said on Tuesday that he was “surprised” that Gov. Cuomo criticized the behavior of police officers in the recent water-dousing incidents.
Interjecting questions from reporters at the monthly crime statistics briefing, O’Neill brought up Cuomo’s comments from the day before, when the guv called the cops’ behavior “one of the most disturbing and embarrassing actions I’ve seen.”
“Hold on. I’ve got just one more thing. I’m surprised nobody asked me about this but it seems like everybody feels like it’s OK to continue to take issue with the work of the NYPD,” O’Neill said.
“I know the governor made a statement about training about those two police officers and I’m surprised about that, I’ve got to tell you,” he continued. “Because every time that I see him and every time that I talk with him, he’s fully supportive of what we do and how we do it.”
Cuomo was referring to the two cops who were caught on video walking away after getting drenched with buckets of water in Brownsville last month. He called their reaction “impotent” — then slammed NYPD training.
But O’Neill rushed to the “two young cops'” defense on Tuesday.
“We ask our cops to make decisions — sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes in the middle. And we fully support them,” he said. “So, I was just a little surprised at that. Now’s not the time to be divisive. Now’s the time for everybody to work together.”