NYPD Shooting: Calls For NYC Mayor’s Resignation In Aftermath

A deadly night for two NYPD officers in an execution-style shooting has led to calls for the resignation of first-term New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. De Blasio, who is approaching the one-year anniversary of his inauguration as mayor, has been widely fingered as a major cause for the climate that led to the shooting of two NYPD officers while they were sitting in their car on Saturday afternoon.

The MoveOn.org petition calling for the mayor’s resignation had over 41,000 signatures as of early Sunday morning. It was noted by MoveOn.org that the petition won’t be promoted because it “may not reflect MoveOn members’ progressive values, or that MoveOn members may disagree about whether to support this petition.” The petition writers noted that the mayor “blasted his own police department by throwing them under the bus. His words and actions on the subject matter of late have to be held accountable.”

It adds that “he is unfit to lead this city…(and) have a relationship with his police department.” The petition finishes by calling for the mayor’s resignation and a special election.

Some people from out of state also added their signatures and comments in light of the NYPD shooting.

George Biskup from Irwin, Pennsylvania, said, “He sat at the table with Obama, Holder and Sharpton painting cops as the bad guys and painting the Grand Jury system as being racist.”

Quentin Kramer from Monkton, Maryland, said, “It sure didn’t take DiBlasio long to have New York in ruins.”

On Saturday night, just hours after the 3 p.m. shooting, hundreds NYPD police officers at the hospital turned their backs on the mayor as he entered for a press conference. The chilling moment was caught on video, as reported by the Inquisitr.

There have been other, more formal criticisms of the mayor in the immediate wake of the NYPD shooting. Patrick Lynch, the head of the city’s largest police union, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, publicly blasted the mayor. According to Newsday, on Saturday night, Lynch angrily blamed what was officially called an “assassination” of the officers on weeks of sustained protests over NYPD use of force. The death of Eric Garner, who died while being arrested during the summer, has been a flashpoint for protesters who have used it as an example of excessive force. A grand jury investigating the case declined to indict the officer, which set off protests.

Lynch said that shooting of the NYPD officers has caused “tears at the foundations of our society.” He said that de Blasio and protesters are the ones to blame in the shooting because they have created an atmosphere of hostility toward the NYPD.

“There’s blood on many hands tonight,” Lynch said at a news conference outside the hospital after the NYPD shooting and the officers’ bodies had been carried away.

[Image via ABC News]