Except maybe when he was quoted supporting them. As he was in May, with regard to l’affaire Kahn: The mayor said, in response to French critics of the practice, “I think it is humiliating, but if you don’t want to do the perp walk, don’t do the crime.”
Today, though, when questioned about whether the Police Department might end the practice, the mayor offered, “I’ve always thought that the perp walks were outrageous, but that’s only my view. Nobody’s asked me, and I have no say in it. They’re not guilty until they’re convicted, and yet we vilify them for the benefit of theater, for the circus. You know, they did it in Roman times too. It’s nothing new.” He seems to have answered a question no one’s asked him at least twice, then, and quite differently each time. It’s almost as if Bloomberg is tailoring his take on the perp walk for the benefit of theater, for the circus.