NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is defending provocative comments made by the Rev. Al Sharpton at City Hall.
De Blasio, Sharpton and Police Commissioner William Bratton led a roundtable about police conduct on Thursday.
The meeting was convened after the death of a black Staten Island man after he was placed in a choke hold by a white NYPD officer.
It was ruled a homicide by the city medical examiner on Friday.
Sharpton believes choke holds, which are banned, are used disproportionately on minorities.
He said that de Blasio’s teenage son, whose mother is black, would be a candidate for a choke hold if he weren’t the mayor’s son.
The comment landed on the front pages of the city tabloids.
De Blasio said he was not offended.
