NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio is being called out to table to provide receipts for his bold claims about arrests for marijuana possession dropping while he’s been in office by Mayoral candidate Robert Gangi.
Per Politico
Mayor Bill de Blasio is being called a liar by one of his Democratic rivals after the mayor said at a campaign event last night that among the changes he implemented was “ending arrest for low-level possession of marijuana.”
De Blasio made the remark during a candidate forum in Manhattan, hosted by the Village Independent Democrats. Robert Gangi, a longtime prison and police reform activist, sent an email to supporters Wednesday morning titled, “de Blasio’s Marijuana lies” and citIng New York state statistics showing that during the first three months of 2017, the NYPD made more than 5,000 arrests “for the possession or sale of small amounts of marijuana.” Gangi writes: “That’s nearly 400 arrests per week” and 91 percent of the people arrested were people of color.
In February, POLITICO New York reported that in 2016, the NYPD arrested 18,136 people for marijuana possession. That figure is lower than it was in 2013 and 2014, but than in 2015.
Asked why the mayor said arrests for marijuana possessions were ending, a campaign spokesman sent a statement that said, in part, “Marijuana possession arrests are down 30 percent and general low-level possession arrests that don’t involve public smoking have effectively been eliminated since the Mayor took office.”
Asked about Gangi’s figures, de Blasio told reporters there is a difference between charging someone for possession of marijuana, and the sale of it.
“What we had focused on was no longer arresting people for low-level possession,” the mayor said. “That is different from sale, that is different from smoking marijuana in public.”
De Blasio said his administration has “been very consistent about moving away from arrest for low-level possession versus the other charges, which are entirely different.”
Told of de Blasio’s remarks, Gangi laughed. Citing NYPD figures sent to the state, he noted there have been 4,183 arrests in New York City for the possession of small amounts of marijuana. During that time, the NYPD made an additional 953 arrests for the sale of marijuana. Gangi said he did not accept the explanation from de Blasio or his campaign, that reducing the number of arrests for marijuana possession, “effectively” ended the practice.
“They had reduced the number of marijuana arrests. But to say 50 marijuana arrests a day is ending, really smacks of the alternative fact claims of the world of Trump,” Gangi said.
Gangi, had a real “drop the mic” type moment when he quoted Malcolm X to add some extra punch to his statement.
“If they plunge a knife into your chest 9 inches, and pull it back 3 inches, that’s not progress.” This has all the makings of being a pretty epic election.