A Round and a Roundy: De Blasio’s Cops Did Not De-Escalate

12:46 AM EDT on May 31, 2020

Cartoon: Bill Roundy

Editorial cartoonist Bill Roundy

Editorial cartoon of Bill Roundy by editorial cartoonist Bill Roundy.

Our editorial cartoonist was already working on this week's toon before cops used their squad cars as deadly weapons on Saturday night in Brooklyn.

This week's editorial takedown of our police-enthralled mayor stemmed from Mayor de Blasio's comments on Friday night, when he said police would de-escalate tensions at a massive protest at the Barclays Center — but instead showed up in such huge numbers that tensions was immediately escalated among New Yorkers who showed up to protest the continued killings of unarmed African-Americans by police around the nation, most recently the Minneapolis Police Department killing of George Floyd.

This boy had his hands up when an NYPD ofcr pulled his mask down and pepper sprayed him. ⁦@NYPDShea⁩? Mayor ⁦@BilldeBlasio⁩? pic.twitter.com/YtXDOoVckA
— Sherrilyn Ifill (@SIfill_) May 31, 2020

Hours after Roundy's cartoon was posted, Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Danny Harris issued the following statement:

We are deeply disturbed by videos showing NYPD officers driving SUVs into crowds of people during last night’s protest in Brooklyn. We demand a full investigation into these events, and for our mayor to hold those responsible accountable. Such brutal tactics, like using 6,000-pound SUVs as weapons against people, must be immediately rooted out of the NYPD by Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Shea. These actions are unacceptable and run counter to the very concept of street safety and Vision Zero that the NYPD is supposed to uphold.

All of Bill Roundy's cartoons are archived here.

Streetsblog

This piece was the work of the Streetsblog staff.

Promoted

Stay in touch

More from Streetsblog New York City

Congestion Pricing

Stockholm Leader’s Message to NYC: ‘Congestion Pricing Just Works’

"In Stockholm, people really thought that congestion pricing would be the end of the world, the city will come to a standstill, no one would be able to get to work anymore and all the theaters and shops would just go bankrupt. None of that happened."