City To Investigate Inwood Cop 'Deputizing' Anti-Looters: Report

INWOOD, MANHATTAN — Elected officials and the city's Department of Investigation are reviewing the actions of an Inwood NYPD commander who "deputized" a group of anti-looters at a demonstration on Dyckman Street earlier this month, according to THE CITY.

Deputy Inspector Peter Andrea, with the 34th Precinct, was caught on video telling a crowd of at least 100 people to wear color-coded arm bands if they stayed out past Mayor Bill de Blasio's 8 p.m. curfew to protect local businesses from looters.

“Make sure you wear white armbands so we know who you are,” Andrea tells a crowd gathered in the Duane Reade parking lot.

THE CITY said it was unclear how many in the crowd were business owners.

The video has quickly drawn the ire of those who say the instructions were a dangerous go-ahead for civilians to take police matters into their own hands.

An NYPD spokesperson told THE CITY that the precinct's instructions only told residents to call police and let them know if they saw something like looting. Andrea can be seen later in the video telling people to not put themselves in harm's way and get a police officer to handle any situation.

But the speech comes from the same anti-looting gathering where demonstrators were later seen yelling and chasing after supposed looters, some carrying baseball bats.

“We have too often seen the tragedies that can occur when untrained and unauthorized citizens become involved with law enforcement,” Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer’s office told THE CITY, “and so it is not a practice that we support in any way.”

Members of Manhattan Community Board 12's Public Safety Committee, state Sen. Robert Jackson and several Uptown residents also expressed concern about the video.

A spokesperson for Mayor Bill de Blasio told THE CITY that City Hall was not aware of the 34 Precinct’s actions, but that it will be one of the things reviewed by the city corporation counsel and head of the Department of Investigation.

To read the full report in THE CITY click here.