Andrew Cuomo calls New York City’s response to looting and damage ‘inexcusable’

CNN — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday called recent looting and unrest in New York City “inexcusable,” publicly blaming Mayor Bill de Blasio and the New York City Police Department and suggesting that he could override de Blasio to send the National Guard into the city. “My option is to displace the mayor of New York City and bring in the National Guard, as the governor, in a state of emergency and basically take over the mayor’s job,” Cuomo said. But he stressed that he’s not at that point yet, and that calling in the National Guard would be “a chaotic situation in the midst of an already chaotic situation.” Freddi Goldstein, a spokesman for de Blasio, called Cuomo’s remarks “offensive to the men and women of the NYPD, who are out there every night trying to keep New Yorkers safe.” “It would be nice if our officers knew they had the respect of their governor,” Goldstein added. Earlier Tuesday, de Blasio said Guardsmen “are not trained for the circumstance here, they have not been spending decades working on the relationship between police and community particularly in the intensive way it’s been worked on in recent years.” Cuomo said he has informed cities in New York that he has the National Guard and state police on hand if they require assistance.