Biden Praises Fallen NYPD Officers In Call To 'Fund' Police

NEW YORK CITY — President Joe Biden made a call in his first State of the Union address to "fund" — not defund — police departments after praising two fallen NYPD officers felled by a gunman.

Biden on Tuesday linked the deaths of officers Wilbert Mora, 27, and Jason Rivera, 22, to a need for investments in crime prevention.

He said safety and equal justice aren't mutually exclusive — and implicitly criticized members of his own Democratic Party who argue law enforcement agencies nationwide receive too much funding.

"We should all agree: the answer is not to defund the police," he said. "It's to fund the police. Fund them. Fund them.

"Fund them with resources and training ... they need to protect our communities."

The White House's official transcript emphasized "FUND" in all-capital letters.

But Biden's call fell on many skeptical ears in New York City, where advocates have long criticized the NYPD's $5 billion expense budget as better spent on social programs that can address the root causes of crime.

One Twitter user also posed a stark contrast between the NYPD's budget and that of defense spending by all of Ukraine, where soldiers are fending off a massive invasion by Russian troops.

"The g------ NYPD alone has a larger budget than the ENTIRE Ukrainian military, but here Biden is talking about how we need to give more money to police nationwide," tweeted @Citizen_Kane4.

Ukraine's 2021 defense budget was roughly $4.2 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Other Twitter users levied similar criticisms.

"If Biden so big on police, send the NYPD to help Ukraine since they have a bigger budget than their military lol," tweeted @latinxpothead.

"The NYPD's budget is bigger than the military budget of Ukraine and Ukraine is at war with Russia," tweeted @EclecticRadical.

Biden, for his part, emphasized that his American Rescue Plan included $350 million not just for police departments, but strategies such as community violence interrupters that advocates argue break cycles of violence. He also highlighted efforts that require officers to wear body cameras, ban chokeholds and restrict no-knock warrants for its officers.

He said the United States will carry on the mission of Mora and Rivera, two Dominican Americans who grew up in the city and worked to "restore the trust and safety every community deserves."

"Let’s not abandon our streets, or choose between safety and equal justice," he said. "Let’s come together to protect our communities, restore trust and hold law enforcement accountable."

Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain, thanked Biden for highlighting the fallen officers.

"These two men died in the line of duty, and we must honor them by being clear that we will not abandon our streets, just as the president said," Adams said in a statement. "Public safety and justice are prerequisites to prosperity, so we must end the wave of gun violence we are seeing across New York and the rest of the nation."