The New York Police Department has been filmed removing a mother and her crying child from a restaurant for allegedly failing to show proof of vaccination cards.
The distressing video shows half a dozen officers surrounding a booth occupied by the woman and her visibly distressed young son, as the police inform diners that anyone who is eating without a vaccination card will be arrested for trespassing unless they leave voluntarily.
Patrons in the restaurant can be heard admonishing the officers, branding their behavior as “disgusting” and “disgraceful.”
“Is this what you signed up for?” the woman filming the incident asks the officers. “Is this what justice looks like for you? Is this what you dreamed of when you wanted to be a cop?”
In New York, children aged 5 to 11 must now show proof of one vaccination dose to eat in a restaurant or visit a movie theatre, while children over 12 must display proof of either two doses or at least one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Mayor Bill de Blasio implemented the tough restrictions earlier this month in response to the new Omicron variant, despite the city only seeing seven cases.
“Vaccination works and vaccine mandates work,” de Blasio said at the time.
City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) slammed the new rule, accusing de Blasio of hitting a “new low” by using children for political gain.
“We know de Blasio is playing a sick game of political posturing in his quixotic run for governor, but to lump kids into the mandate is a new low,” he said.
“New Yorkers need to say, ‘Enough is enough,’ but they have to say it to our new mayor. Bill’s ride into the sunset can’t come soon enough.
“We’ll see his administration in court,” Borelli said.
