NYPD Officers Distance Themselves from Puerto Rican Day Parade

A number of New York City police officers are distancing themselves from the Puerto Rican Day Parade because organizers of the event are honoring Oscar Lopez Rivera — a Puerto Rican nationalist who once embraced armed resistance to the United States. 

Police Commissioner James O'Neill told reporters he won't be marching and the NYPD Hispanic Society is boycotting the event, saying it runs against its values of "peace and unity."

But at a rally supporting the parade, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said she stands firmly behind the decision to honor Lopez. "Many in the Puerto Rican community, here and on the island, are elated to have him here," she said.

The parade takes place June 11.