- A 2019 video of now-New York City Mayor Eric Adams using the word "cracker" resurfaced.
- "Every day in the police department, I kicked those crackers' ass, man," Adams said in the video.
- Adams apologized and said the comment was "inappropriate."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams apologized Friday for calling white New York Police Department officers "crackers" in a video from 2019, before his tenure as mayor, WABC reported.
"Every day in the police department, I kicked those crackers' ass, man," Adams, who is a former NYPD captain, said a private event in December 2019. "I was unbelievable."
Adams said Friday that his remarks came in response to someone else who used the term in a question.
"Clearly, it's a comment that should not be used," Adams said on Friday. "I apologize; not only to those who heard it but to New Yorkers because they should expect more from me."
He added that a portion of his time in the NYPD was spent dealing with racism.
"My fight, you know, my fight in the police department was fighting racism throughout my entire journey and I was serious about fighting against that," he said.
The President of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, Patrick J. Lynch, released a statement that said, "We have spent far too many hours together in hospital emergency rooms these past few weeks, and we've worked together for decades before that. A few seconds of video will not define our relationship."
Adam's office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.