President Obama is dismissing comments made by his F.B.I. Director James B. Comey, who warned of a post-Ferguson chilling effect on law enforcement that was emboldening criminals nationwide.
“You know, we have not seen any evidence of that,” Obama replied when confronted by Comey’s remarks in an interview with NBC News anchor Lester Holt.
Obama dismissed Comey’s remarks as “anecdotal.”
“I think the F.B.I. Director would be the first to say that he’s heard anecdotal suggestions that may be happening in selective sites, but we don’t know.”
Obama acknowledged that crime had spiked in some cities, but argued that violent crime overall had decreased since he came into office.