New York City has hired 2,300 social distancing ambassadors to tell people to follow social distancing rules in order to avoid tension with police.
According to the New York Post, Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a press briefing Sunday that the ambassadors were hired to prevent increasing tensions between cops and citizens. De Blasio also addressed the disturbing viral video where NYPD officer Francisco Garcia attacked an innocent bystander and kept his knee on his neck for not practicing social distancing in the Lower East Side. The role of the ambassadors will also include handing out face masks.
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“What we don’t need is anything that goes beyond the proper enforcement of these rules turning into something else and we saw a very troubling video a few days back from the Lower East Side, an instance of the wrong approach to policing that was very alienating to so many people in this city.”
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Additionally, he praised the NYPD for trying to earn trust within the communities and said the incident proved what could happen when people faced with certain challenges and are used to the norm.
“I think they pull at people in a very real and painful way and remind us of things that were too common for too long that are not acceptable. So, we’re going to increase intensely the number of public servants who are out there educating, providing face coverings, reminding people of the rules, helping people to get it right,”
There were no details on whether the ambassadors will be paid for their work or who was in control of the hiring process.