Organizers of New York City’s Pride events have announced that police and corrections officers will be banned from participating in any pride marches for at least the next five years, saying their presence makes other participants feel unsafe.
NYC Pride said Saturday in a press release that security for its Pride March in June, and all other Pride-related events, will come from private security, community leaders and volunteers instead of the New York City Police Department.
“The sense of safety that law enforcement is meant to provide can instead be threatening, and at times dangerous, to those in our community who are most often targeted with excessive force and/or without reason,” the group said. “NYC Pride is unwilling to contribute in any way to creating an atmosphere of fear or harm for members of the community.”
The group said police would provide first response and security “only when absolutely necessary as mandated by city officials,” and that it hoped to keep police officers at least one city block away from the event perimeter “where possible.”
“This announcement follows many months of conversation and discussion with key stakeholders in the community,” NYC Pride Co-Chair André Thomas said in a statement.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, called the move a “mistake” during a press conference Monday.
“First of all, we have to keep people safe, and it’s been an incredibly safe, positive event and we have to be mindful of continuing that,” Mr. de Blasio said, the New York Post reported.
“Second of all … I believe in inclusion,” he said. “And we’re talking about one of the issues is officers who are members of the LGBT community, wanting to march and express their pride and their solidarity with the community and their desire to keep changing the NYPD and changing the city.”
The Gay Officers Action League, an LGBTQ police group, issued a statement saying it was “disheartened” by the decision.
“Heritage of Pride (NYC Pride) has long been a valued partner of our organization and its abrupt about-face in order to placate some of the activists in our community is shameful,” the group said.
Detective Sophia Mason, an NYPD spokesperson, criticized the decision Saturday, saying the department’s “annual work to ensure a safe, enjoyable Pride season has been increasingly embraced by its participants,” The Associated Press reported.
“The idea of officers being excluded is disheartening and runs counter to our shared values of inclusion and tolerance,” Detective Mason said. “That said, we’ll still be there to ensure traffic safety and good order during this huge, complex event.”
