De Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Slam DOJ for Saying NYC Is ‘Soft on Crime’

Top New York City officials are pushing back after a DOJ statement came out criticizing how the city is handling crime.

In a press release today further showing Attorney General Jeff Sessions‘ commitment to cracking down on sanctuary cities, the DOJ says, “New York City continues to see gang murder after gang murder, the predictable consequence of the city’s ‘soft on crime’ stance.”

NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill posted the following to Twitter:

Today's @TheJusticeDept statement is unbelievably disrespectful to the hardworking #NYPD cops who fight crime and keep people safe everyday. pic.twitter.com/5F9EfvddgF

— Commissioner O'Neill (@NYPDONeill) April 21, 2017

He also said in a statement that it “demonstrates a willful disregard for the facts.”

Both he and Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke earlier today in response to the DOJ statement, with O’Neill saying it was “insulting” and that his “blood began to boil” when he read it.

A spokesperson for the DOJ responded in the following statement:

Statement from DOJ spox Ian Prior pushing back on Mayor de Blasio's comments: pic.twitter.com/Pi741pBnvy

— Betsy Woodruff (@woodruffbets) April 21, 2017

You can watch de Blasio and O’Neill speak above.

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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