Mayor says food delivery worker should not have been detained

NEW YORK - Mayor Bill de Blasio is criticizing the response of the NYPD to a food delivery worker attempting to make a delivery on the Upper West Side past the curfew on Thursday evening.

He was forced off of his bike and his food delivery bag was taken away.  The man asks the officers detaining him, "Are you serious?  For real?"

Delivery food workers are considered essential workers and are exempt from the curfew, according to the mayor.

The mayor took to Twitter early Friday morning to say he had spoken with the NYPD commissioner about the incident.

"Just got off the phone with @NYPDShea after seeing the troubling video of a delivery worker arrested by police while doing his job. This is NOT acceptable and must stop. Food delivery is essential work and is EXEMPTED from the curfew. Same goes for journalists covering protests and out doing their jobs. They are essential workers, too. We WILL protect their rights. The public depends on the information they provide. Will get NYPD to fix this immediately," wrote de Blasio on Twitter.

The Door Dash delivery man was briefly taken to a local precinct and was released within an hour. No charges were filed.

Tensions have been high between police and protesters as peaceful marches over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis have made way for violent looting at night.

The NYPD arrested more than 200 people across the city late Thursday for violating the curfew.