Suozzi hammered over comments linking Buffalo massacre to bail reform

ALBANY — Rep. Tom Suozzi is taking heat after mentioning bail reform when asked Wednesday how the state should respond to the deadly racially-motivated mass shooting in Buffalo.

Suozzi, a Long Island Democrat running against Gov. Hochul in next month’s gubernatorial primary, ran through a laundry list of legislative changes he’d like to see related to mental health and gun laws but mentioned bail as a priority.

“I think that it’s related to gun laws, but the major issue of bail reform,” Suozzi said during a virtual press conference. “We need to give judges discretion to consider dangerousness and that involves a lot of people with gun crimes.”

Payton Gendron, the alleged shooter who targeted Black shoppers and killed 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket on Saturday, has no past criminal history.

Suozzi’s remarks drew condemnation from criminal justice advocates as well as the head of the state Democratic party.

Nyatwa Bullock, statewide organizer at the Center for Community Alternatives, called Suozzi’s comments an “exploitative and grotesque misrepresentation.”

“Rep. Tom Suozzi’s statement is not only inaccurate and irresponsible, but it’s downright dangerous,” Bullock said. “Rather than offering any support for the victims and their families or proposing actual solutions to racist violence, Suozzi has perversely chosen to exploit a mass shooting by a white supremacist to advance policies that will continue to disproportionately jail, harm, and even kill Black and brown New Yorkers.”

At Hochul’s behest, earlier this year the Legislature approved tweaks to New York’s mostly cashless bail system in the state budget.

The changes included allowing judges to consider whether a defendant is accused of seriously harming another person or has a history of gun use when setting bail. Suozzi and other critics say the amendments fell short.

Suozzi also used the Wednesday presser to hammer Hochul over what he described as her hypocrisy in demanding Congress enact gun safety laws since she voted against similar measures when serving in the House.

During the press conference, Suozzi showed videos of Hochul touting her National Rifle Association endorsement and a clip of the governor from last weekend in which she said Congress should be “ashamed” of not enacting background check legislation.

“I’m angry that the governor of this state said that Congress should be ashamed for not taking action on background checks — when Kathy Hochul was one of the very members of Congress who pledged to vote against gun safety laws when she was in Congress — all the while boasting about her NRA endorsement,” Suozzi said.

State Democratic party chairman Jay Jacobs slammed Suozzi over his remarks.

“For Tom Suozzi to politicize this weekend’s racist terrorist attack by blaming the Governor demonstrates both how desperate his campaign is and how shockingly offensive his judgment has become,” Jacobs said in a statement.

Hochul, during a press briefing announcing executive orders and other actions to combat gun violence and online extremism, dismissed Suozzi’s attempt to tie bail to the Buffalo tragedy.

“I assure you I’m not paying attention to accusations or any other messaging however it’s conveyed by someone running for office. This is not a time for politics,” she said. “If people don’t realize that — I’ll let the media judge and everyone else can judge the propriety of having those attacks that are absolutely unrelated to what happened here.”