Family Life

06.02.09 | FL News Team

President Obama should watch his back on the streets of New York. Those words came from the mouth of Democratic Congressman Charles Rangel who represents Harlem.

The comment came Saturday after one Big Apple police officer shot and killed another just days earlier in a case of mistaken identity. One officer, the one shot, was black, the shooter is white. That racial difference became a big part of a news conference held by Rangel during the weekend.

In answer to a question about a weekend visit the Obamas were planning in New York the congressman said, "make certain he doesn't run around East Harlem unidentified."

The congressman has apologized for the quip saying "it was entirely inappropriate to bring the President and his wife into this discussion during their visit to New York." He says he hopes his "off-the-cuff comment did not cause embarrassment to anyone."  

Officer Omar Edwards was off-duty last week when he chased someone he thought had broken into his car. A responding officer saw Edwards chasing the man while wielding a handgun and shot him. Congressman Rangel is still pressing for a high level review of situations involving New York Police when, he says, "black officers are killed by whites, which too often is the case."