A day after sharply criticizing the NYPD for failing to put a stop to looting in Manhattan and other parts of the city, Governor Cuomo struck a very difficult tune Wednesday when describing the men and women in blue at his daily press conference.

“New York City last night was much better," said Cuomo. "The protesters were mainly peaceful. The police officers had the resources in the capacity to do their jobs. And the results last night were much, much different than the night before.”

What You Need To Know


  • Cuomo offers praise for NYPD after looting curtailed.

  • His remarks come one day after he was highly critical of the department adn Mayor de Blasio.

  • Cuomo declined to say whether he offered an apology to the police commissioner.

Widespread protests have taken place around the city, primarily in Brooklyn and Manhattan, over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis who was in police custody. 

While the majority of the protests here in the city have been peaceful, at night there have been shocking scenes of looting and violent clashes with the police. 

That prompted critical comments made by Cuomo Tuesday.

“The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night. I believe that," Cuomo said at the time. "Second, you have 38,000 NYPD people. It is the largest police department in America. Use 38,000 people and protect property.”

Chief Terence Monahan, the highest ranking uniformed officer in the NYPD, responded to Cuomo in an interview on NBC Wednesday morning. 

“Don’t ever call them ineffective," said Monahan. "As a matter of fact, his office called last night and apologized to me. I know he called the police commissioner directly to apologize, and say that is not what he meant.”

Cuomo was then asked at his daily briefing Wednesday whether he apologized to Monahan or the department. 

“First, I never spoke to whatever that person’s name is. I spoke to the police commissioner and said the same thing I just said to you and the same thing I said yesterday, which is it’s an issue of management and deployment," Cuomo said. "The actual police officers are the best. My issue was with the management and deployment — never about the police officers.”

What You Need To Know

  • AOC has national name recognition and $3.5 million in campaign cash on hand.

  • Her main opponent in the Democratic primary says she drove away jobs for the district.

  • Ocasio-Cortez counters by arguing that she does what's best for underserved communities.

Governor Cuomo began his press conference quoting the Bible, specifically the New Testament, countering President Trump, who held a photo op this week holding a bible.

The president threatened to send active military into cities to quell the disturbances. 

Both Cuomo de Blasio said they disagree with that approach.