Rep. Pete King slammed new Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Friday for announcing an investigation into the Baltimore Police Department as slain New York City Police Officer Brian Moore was laid to rest after being fatally shot by a gunman last weekend.
"It was not sensitive at all — and the fact is, if that was the other way, it would be called racism," King told
Megyn Kelly on Fox News.
The Republican congressman represents New York's Queens district, where Moore was shot in the head last Saturday by a man who he and his partner had stopped on suspicion of carrying a handgun. The 25-year-old officer died of his injuries on Monday.
Although young, Moore had earned accolades on the job and the respect of his NYPD superiors; he made more than 150 arrests in the nearly five years he'd been part of the department,
The New York Times reported.
He and his partner were part of an undercover unit that concentrated on street crimes and were driving an unmarked car when they stopped the gunman.
Moore, who lived on Long Island, came from an NYPD background: His father, Raymond, and his uncle and cousins were also New York police officers, the Times reported.
His death came five months after two uniformed New York City officers were ambushed by a gunman who said he wanted revenge for police killings of civilians.
The NYPD's final tribute to Brian Moore on Friday was moving. Busloads of police officers — some from as far as California, Louisiana, and Chicago — stood united outside St. James Roman Catholic Church in the town of Seaford on Long Island, media reported.
They stood by department for blocks around the the church in lines of blue, a huge and memorable turnout. Motorcycle officers came from cities in nearby states to escort the hearse to the church.
"The attorney general should not have done that, and some of the media should not have covered [her announcement]," King said. "It was the height of irresponsibility to do that."
In Washington, Lynch announced
a federal civil rights investigation into Baltimore's police department after a request by city officials in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray, 25, who died on April 19 from a fatal spine injury while in police custody.
Gray's death sparked riots and days of unrest in the city, and led Republican Gov. Larry Hogan to impose a curfew.
Gray had a criminal history, having been arrested 22 times in Maryland, primarily for possession and distribution of drugs.
King told Kelly on the show that Moore had made 150 arrests, and that he had been "shot to the face and through the brain — and … they're talking about investigating cops.
"The fact is everyone in America should be giving medals for the cops and Brian Moore. The fact he got such a large turnout shows to me real Americans, real people, real people on the ground, appreciate the cops," King said.
"Unfortunately, too many in the national media, some politicians, listen to the likes of Al Sharpton," he added.
Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network, visited Baltimore during the violence, announcing that his group would hold a march there next month.
The suspect in Moore's killing, Demetrius Blackwell, is facing charges including first-degree murder, attempted murder, and other crimes. He is being held without bail and has not entered a plea. His attorney has denied the charges.
Lynch's announcement on Friday was also blasted by Fox commentator Geraldo Rivera, who said it should have been rescheduled in light of Moore's service.
"How is it that the 25-year-old career criminal's life is more important than the 25-year-old New York City cop's life?" he asked Laura Ingraham on Fox. She was substituting for Bill O'Reilly on his show, "The O'Reilly Factor."
"I thought it was very tone-deaf for them not to reschedule," Rivera added. "I'm not suggesting that there was not perhaps brutality or perhaps reason to investigate the [Baltimore] police department — but to do it on this day was awful."
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