‘I Am Not One of the Defunders’: Mayor Eric Adams to Bring Back NYPD Plainclothes Unit Disbanded Under Bill de Blasio
New York City Mayor Eric Adams vowed on CNN Monday to bring back plainclothes anti-crime police units which were disbanded under former mayor Bill de Blasio. The former NYPD officer also dispelled any notion he might have been a supporter of the defund the police movement.
Following protests over the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day in 2020, the NYPD’s plainclothes unit was disbanded. The unit focused heavily on getting illegal guns off the streets, but was criticized for being involved in a number of shootouts and other incidents.
With the unit gone, gun crimes across the city soared. During his campaign, Adams vowed to bring back some version of the unit.
The mayor, a Democrat, joined The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, where the host reminded him of the pledge and also asked him how he intends to handle violent crime.
“The prerequisite to prosperity is public safety and justice. They go together,” said Adams. “And anyone that argues or attempts to say that you could have public safety and justice together, I just deny that, and I believe we can do better.”
The new mayor elaborated:
“Here’s my plan. Number one: we’re going to put in place a plainclothes, anti-gun unit. Policing must be unpredictable and predictable. And by having that anti-gun unit, we’re going to do precision policing on those who are dangerous gangs, violent gangs and those who use guns. But we’re also going to coordinate an effort that has started already after communicating with President Biden, our federal, state, city, ATF, prosecutors, we need to all come together similar to what we did after the terrorist attack to stop terrorism.”
Adams added that he intends to invest in a crisis management team, and the department under his watch will take both a proactive and reactive approach to combating violence across the city.
Blitzer then asked Adams if he is an opponent for the defund the police movement which gained momentum following the killing of Floyd.
“I am not one of the defunders. You know, when you go throughout this city, that’s not what I heard on the ground. In fact, I was clear on my message when I was campaigning,” Adams said. “And people elected me based on a message of public safety, properly utilizing our police departments and making sure that we we invest in long-term things on how to keep our city safe.”
Watch above, via CNN.
