NYPD spokesman slams Ted Cruz for 'incendiary' counterterrorism proposal

The New York Police Department isn't happy with Sen. Ted Cruz's plan to create police task forces to patrol Muslim-heavy US neighborhoods.

In a tweet Tuesday evening, New York Police Department spokesman J. Peter Donald slammed the Republican presidential candidate for suggesting that law enforcement officials specifically patrol Muslim-heavy neighborhoods.

"Hey, @tedcruz are our nearly 1k Muslim officers a 'threat' too? It's hard to imagine a more incendiary, foolish statement," Donald wrote.

Donald's comments came hours after the NYPD commissioner himself went after Cruz.

Standing alongside New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, in a press conference on Tuesday, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton slammed Cruz. Bratton similarly pointed out that many of the Muslim officers serving in the NYPD were also military servicemembers

"The statements he made today is why he's not going to become president of this country," Bratton said. "We don't need a president that doesn't respect the values that form the foundation of this country."

In an interview on CNN on Tuesday, Cruz said he would model his plan after the controversial, lawsuit-plagued NYPD program that used undercover officers to monitor neighborhoods and businesses where Muslim New Yorkers congregated. Cruz also slammed de Blasio for ending the program, which the mayor faulted for not leading to a single arrest.