Cuomo Blasts De Blasio, NYPD Response To Looting In NYC: 'They Didn't Do Their Jobs... It Was A Disgrace'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - They didn't do their jobs.
That's what Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday about Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NYPD.
The governor says the looting and property damage done in the city last night was inexcusable.
"It was a disgrace," Cuomo said.
He used just four words to sum up his evaluation of Mayor de Blasio's handling of the protests that have roiled the city and caused untold millions of property damage and looting.
Then he used seven more.
"What happened in New York City was inexcusable," the governor said.
WATCH: Gov. Andrew Cuomo Holds Daily Briefing
The governor's assessment went well beyond the usual sniping at his frenemy Bill de Blasio, calling into question how the NYPD has been deployed, reported CBS2's Marcia Kramer.
PHOTOS: Looting And Its Aftermath In NYC
"I believe the mayor underestimated the scope of the problem. I think he underestimated the duration of the problem," Cuomo said.
The mayor's spokesperson called Cuomo's comments "offensive to the men and women of the NYPD, who are out there every night trying to keep New Yorkers safe."
Speaking before the governor, fists tightly clenched, the mayor seemed to anticipate the rebuke, saying he will fix the problem with the help of community leaders.
WATCH: Mayor Bill de Blasio Holds Daily Briefing
"A lot of people say they don't believe in the people of the city. They don't believe in the people in our communities. They don't believe in our own police officers. To hell with all of them," de Blasio said.
The mayor's solution to fixing the problem is to enact a new curfew 8 p.m-5 a.m. through next Sunday and put police on 12 hour shifts and deploy more of them.
But he refused Cuomo's offer of some 13,000 National Guard troops, some of which are already deployed in the city at Penn Station and Grand Central.
He called it a dangerous scenario.
"When outside forces go into communities no good comes of it," the mayor said. "They are not trained for the circumstances here."
A frustrated Gov. Cuomo said he would not overrule the mayor because that would add to the chaos. But he said the NYPD needed to increase the number of cops on the street.
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea defended his police officers, saying that last night over 700 people were arrested. He blamed part of the problem on the overly liberal criminal justice system that lets defendants free without bail.
"We can not have people entering the system and being released before the police officers." Shea said.
Meanwhile, police union president Patrick Lynch was furious at Cuomo's comments, and said it's a disgrace that the city and state can't find a way to work together.
"The politics between the two houses has to stop because it's putting our guys in danger. Give us direction. Allow us to do the job. We'll do it," Lynch said.
The mayor insists he is still planning to reopen New York City on a limited basis on Monday, June 8.
