Mayor Bloomberg Defends Police Response To Times Square Pole Sitter
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Michael Bloomberg commented Friday about the police response to a man who climbed up a traffic light pole in Times Square earlier this week.
Speaking on his weekly radio show, Bloomberg said that police allowing Raymond Velasquez to stay up on the pole for hours Tuesday wasn't "the world's worst thing," despite the fact that it brought traffic to a standstill.
"It's a judgement call, it's easy for us to sit there and make fun of it and say, 'you know, I would've done it differently,'" Bloomberg said.
The mayor said that while people may have been "inconvenienced," the most important thing was that "nobody got hurt."
Bloomberg also dismissed the notion that authorities should have done something more drastic to get Velasquez down from the pole.
"If they taser somebody, you can die," he said.
According to authorities, Velasquez, an aspiring rapper, told police he wanted to meet singer Alicia Keys and wouldn't come down unless she came to see him. The court complaint against the man said that he later told authorities the whole incident was "just a publicity stunt."
Velasquez was taken to Bellevue Hospital for psychiatric evaluation. He was arraigned Wednesday on charges including reckless endangerment.
SOUND-OFF: Well, Was It The World's Worst Thing? Agree With Mayor Bloomberg? Share Your Thoughts In The Comments Section Below...
