New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Tuesday criticized Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's call for patrols on Muslim neighborhoods following the terror attacks earlier in the day in Brussels,
Politico New York reports.
"The statements he made today is why he's not going to become president of this country," Bratton in a Times Square press conference with Mayor Bill de Blasio. "We don't need a president that doesn't respect the values that form the foundation of this country."
Cruz, who is seeking the GOP nomination,
issued a statement reading, "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized."
"I just have to say it's reprehensible," de Blasio said of Cruz's statement. "His comments are not about safety and security. It's demagoguery."
The NYPD has 900 Muslim-American officers, he said, adding there are "peace-loving, law-abiding Muslim Americans in neighborhoods all over New York City" and they "should be respected like all other members of our community."
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