De Blasio defends NYPD: Protesters should've "gotten out of the way"

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) blasted New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio via Twitter early Sunday for defending the NYPD after video emerged of some officers driving their cars into a group of protesters.

The state of play: In the clip, New York Police Department cars are surrounded by protesters before driving into the crowd, forcing some of the demonstrators to the ground. Per a New York Times reporter, De Blasio responded by saying: "If those protesters had just gotten out of the way, and not created an attempt to surround that vehicle we would not be talking about this situation."

• Calls for de Blasio to resign from his post as mayor of New York City trended on Twitter following his response to the incident.
• De Blasio also said, "It is a troubling video, and I wish they hadn’t done that, but we have to be clear... they were being surrounded by a violent crowd," per Spectrum News NY1's Gloria Pazmino.

What they're saying: Ocasio-Cortez called De Blasio's comments "unacceptable."

• "As mayor, this police department is under your leadership. This moment demands leadership & accountability from each of us. Defending and making excuses for NYPD running SUVs into crowds was wrong. Make it right. De-escalate." she tweeted.
• "Running SUVs in crowds of people should never, ever be normalized. No matter who does it, no matter why."

Watch the clip:

Editor's note: This article has been updated with Ocasio-Cortez's comments