NYPD admits cops cleared homeless from subway for de Blasio photo op
Overzealous sergeant issued order on his own—for safety, not optics, commissioner says
The New York Post broke the story that police had swept two Brooklyn stations July 23 to evict any inconvenient indigents before de Blasio's train rolled in with his press entourage.
The mayor's office originally denied any such action occurred—then, when the Post produced an internal email explicitly directing NYPD officers to "clear" the homeless, de Blasio insisted he did not care whether it was true. His spokesman said at the time that the mayor's office had no knowledge of any sweep.
O'Neill confirmed July 28 that police had "inspected" the stations along the route and he finally conceded Tuesday that the email was authentic—calling it the work of a supervisor purely concerned with the mayor's safety, not optics.
"This was a sergeant trying his best to do a good job," he said at an unrelated press conference with de Blasio in Brooklyn. "Was the wording the best? Probably not."
O'Neill maintained his officers engaged with just one woman, whom they offered assistance, which she refused. He emphasized that his officers were only worried about de Blasio's security.
"We knew the mayor was coming. It is a security concern. He is, after all, the mayor of New York City," the commissioner said. "This is something we do all the time."
The commissioner said the sergeant would not face any "ramifications."