Mark-Viverito Press Conf On The NYPD (Updated)



City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito held a press conference this morning to condemn the recent killing of two NYPD officers and offer support to the victims’ families and the Department.  Mark-Viverito, who has had her share of political tensions with the police force, spoke in somber tones accompanied by about 25 of her fellow council members.  She began by characterizing the deaths of Police Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos as “a cold-blooded assassination.”

When asked about Mayor de Blasio’s comments yesterday blaming the media for fostering divisiveness, Speaker Mark-Viverito response that “I don’t share in that thought”, appears to leave the mayor increasingly isolated.

Here is the english portion of her full opening statement.  (She also made a statement in spanish.)

Update – Q&A:

Mark-Viverito answered several questions, including her reaction to some protest groups rejecting the call for a moratorium on protests, whether she shares the sentiment expressed by Mayor de Blasio that media coverage of protests has fostered divisiveness, whether the council will table any pending NYPD-related bills, whether she’ll attend the Ramos and Liu funerals, her reaction to PBA President Pat Lynch’s comment that responsibility for the bloodshed begins “on steps of City Hall”, how long a protest moratorium should last and whether her “show of support … will be received as … political expediency.”