New York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams (D) said on Sunday that the city’s streets would be safe if he is elected.
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Adams told host Jake Tapper that he would ensure a coordinated effort with Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and the Biden administration to tackle gun trafficking in the city.
“We’re going to have a coordinated effort to ensure our gun suppression unit receive the resources they deserve,” Adams told Tapper. “And then we’re going to be extremely comfortable going to our judges and stating, we can’t have people who participate in gun violence and they’re out the next day. That’s unacceptable. We need to send a clear message that our streets are going to be safe.”
Adams, who won the NYC Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday, told Tapper that he does not believe in banning handguns, but wants stricter checks on firearms, including spot bag checks in busy transit hubs.
“But then we must have long-term plans of the feeders of violence in our country, because it’s more than just dealing with the immediate shooting. Before that young person gets a gun, he was denied an educational opportunity somewhere in the city. That’s the real crime that we are fighting.”
On police reform, Adams, a former police officer, said certain police should not be liable to be sued when on the job but cited the George Floyd case as an example of an officer who should be sued for going “beyond his scope of responsibility.”
“And so I don’t believe we should be suing officers who are doing their job and some of the hazards of their job. But those who step outside of those boundaries and recklessly carry an act that causes life or serious injury, they should be open to being sued personally,” Adams said.