NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – The NYPD said Sunday that NYC Pride’s decision to ban law enforcement groups from its events, including the annual parade, was “hurtful and disappointing.”
Deputy Commissioner John Miller tweeted the response on Sunday morning along with a video of NYPD at a past march.
“NYC Pride’s decision to exclude members of the NYPD from Pride events is hurtful and disappointing,” Miller wrote. “As this scene reminds us, inclusion and dialogue are the oxygen of reform — everything the Gay Officers Action League NY stands for as they relentlessly challenge and make us a better department.”
The response comes a day after NYC Pride said it was banning police and other law enforcement from taking part in its events until at least 2025.
In their statement, NYC Pride urged members of law enforcement to “acknowledge their harm and to correct course moving forward.”
“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 also said it was working to reduce the NYPD's security presence at its events.
The NYPD previously released a statement on Saturday, saying, “Our annual work to ensure a safe, enjoyable Pride season has been increasingly embraced by its participants. The idea of officers being excluded is disheartening and runs counter to our shared values of inclusion and tolerance.”
The Gay Officers Action League said in a statement Saturday that it was “disheartened by the decision to ban our group from participating in New York City Pride.”
“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 organization said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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