New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea defended Mayor de Blasio in an interview Tuesday on the anti-subway-fare protests that erupted last month across the Big Apple.
Asked whether the mayor — who stayed silent for 24 hours before tweeting his disapproval — should have been tougher on some of the protesters, the top cop called the demonstrations “criminal activity” but deflected any criticism of how de Blasio responded to the situation.
“I won’t even call that a protest. That was criminal activity,” Shea told WNYW/Channel 5’s “Good Day New York” of the so-called J31 protests.
“I’ve spoken to the mayor personally. I know he’s spoken publicly about it. I think quite honestly it’s not the mayor. It’s other people, it’s many other people.”
Shea stopped short of naming any specific individuals.
The commissioner then went on to detail the severity of anti-cop sentiment in the city.
“You can’t have a situation in New York City where people are putting up on social media intending what they’re going to do. ‘Knives, aim for their neck, blind police officers,’” he said.
The NYPD did not respond to requests for more information or evidence of the threats.
The Jan. 31 demonstration by the radical group Decolonize This Place, which demands a fare-free transit system without a police presence, caused damage to several subway stations.
The protestors vandalized turnstiles, sprayed “f–k cops” graffiti on trains and stations and scuffled with dozens of New York’s Finest before being subdued by police.
Police busted 13 people, including nine men and four women in the protests — some for violent offenses, one against a cop.
A 20-year-old man from LA, Jasper Skelton, allegedly pointed a laser pointer into an officer’s eye.
Prosecutors threw the book at Skelton, charging him with second- and third-degree assault, harassment, obstructing governmental administration and criminal possession of a weapon, court records show. Police also issued 11 summonses.
