Controller Scott Stringer, normal a strong ally of Mayor de Blasio, on Wednesday criticized Hizzoner for calling the cops after the arrest of his friend.
“The mayor shouldn’t be involved in any way when someone gets arrested. It can only be problematic,” Stringer said after leaving a budget briefing in City Hall.
Stringer, a Democrat whose controller campaign de Blasio endorsed, said he believed the mayor when he said he didn’t try to pull strings for Bishop Orlando Findlayter or in any way intervene on his behalf.
But he said it just doesn’t look good for the city’s top elected official to be calling the NYPD over any arrest.
“Once a mayor makes a call like that, it is problematic because it raises questions. Even though your intention was good,” he said.
Findlayter, a church pastor who was on de Blasio’s inaugural committee, was arrested early Tuesday over outstanding warrants, including one on a suspended license.
Cops let him go after de Blasio’s call, although officials denied that the mayor’s call had anything to do with it.
