Bloomberg snaps back at reporter questioning sale of brass to reloader
http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-nyc-ma...,5294109.story
NYC Mayor Blows Up At Reporter Over Gun Control Question (VIDEO)
QUEENS, NY (PIX11)— Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City may be taking a national stand against gun violence--but he apparently can't stand local, television reporters who challenge him on a city policy involving NYPD "shell casings."
The Mayor got testy with yours truly--Mary Murphy--when I questioned him Monday about the June sale of 28-thousand pounds of spent, shell casings from the NYPD's firing range in the Bronx….to an ammunition dealer in Georgia.
Bloomberg explained that competitive bidding allows anyone to buy scrap metal--and he suspects "some bullet manufacturer probably bought some to say, 'Gotcha'". The mayor has angered many gun dealers, especially in the South, with his campaigns to tighten the laws that make it so easy to buy weapons in certain states.
When PIX 11 asked Mayor Bloomberg if the city would change its policy, so ammunition dealers could not get access to NYPD shell casings, he started to maintain that the city is selling scrap metal, not bullets, and city officials have to be "stewards of the public's money." When I tried to interject, asking if the wrong message is being sent, the mayor told me that if I didn't let him finish the answer, I should "stand in the back of the room" at his next press availability. He then repeated his argument, "These are not bullets. This is scrap metal," and accused reporters of being fed information by a gun dealer "that gives you a story to rile up everybody."
The New York City Police Department has been dealing with an explosion of gun violence in the summer months, including a Bronx incident where a 4-year old boy was killed, while playing near a basketball court. Nationally, a dozen people were killed in a movie theater during a screening of "Dark Knight"--and this past weekend, six worshipers were slaughtered at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
Mayor Bloomberg took the questions from PIX 11, outside a Sikh temple in Queens, where he went to pay his condolences to a local man who lost a relative in the Wisconsin shooting.
For several years, Michael Bloomberg has been a national voice on gun violence--traveling to Virginia in the wake of the Virginia Tech shootings that left 32 people dead--challenging candidates for office who don't take a stronger stand on gun laws, including President Barack Obama and Republican candidate, Mitt Romney. Just last night, a coalition of mayors aired a commercial in prime time, during the Olympics, calling on Americans to "Demand a Stand."
When the story broke last Wednesday about the NYPD shell casings, the Mayor was not available for public comment that day. But Bronx Borough President, Ruben Diaz, Jr., quickly sent a letter to City Hall, calling the sale of the spent shells "unconscionable."
PIX 11 wanted to know how some other Borough Presidents felt, so we contacted three of them. In Queens, Borough President Helen Marshall's office said, "We certainly support the effort to safeguard where the shell casings eventually go--and anything that reduces guns or ammunition on the street." PIX 11 was still waiting to hear from two others.
New York City still has its lowest murder rate in decades, but Police Commissioner Ray Kelly did not want to go beyond what Mayor Bloomberg said on the "spent shell" issue. When I asked Kelly why everyone was so sensitive about my questions, he responded, "I think you've got to give it up, Mary, you already got your answer."
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