NYC mayor cautions police against pushing political agenda

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Sunday that "ANY NYPD Officer pushing ANY political agenda while on duty will face consequences," while retweeting a New York Police Department (NYPD) post saying that "Police officers must remain apolitical," reported Xinhua.

"We will act fast here, and this will not be tolerated," added the mayor.

NYPD News on Sunday retweeted a video in which NYPD officers in Flatbush, a neighborhood in the NYC borough of Brooklyn, were allegedly saying "Trump 2020" over and over again on their patrol car's speaker on the night of Saturday when the early voting of the general election started in the city.

"We are aware of this video and it is under investigation by our Brooklyn South Investigation Unit," said NYPD News.

The video was first tweeted by Talia Jane, who identifies as an independent reporter and said in her tweet that the police "stopped when someone started filming but couldn't resist one more -- in violation of the NYPD's policy against endorsing candidates on duty."

NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan said on Tuesday that the department was devoting more resources to the election this year than in previous years because of the nature of the current presidential race.

Officers were dispatched to monitor 88 polling places offering early voting and will be dispatched to 1,201 polling stations around the city on Nov. 3, Election Day, including 708 public schools and new polling sites at Madison Square Garden and Lincoln Center in Manhattan, and Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Nationwide, early voting rates have dramatically surged this year, as President Donald Trump and his Democratic rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, campaigned for the White House.