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NEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio took a tougher tone Monday against NYPD officers accused of excessive force during protests that have swept the city, even as he said he was considering the possibility of a curfew after looting broke out in Manhattan.

The mayor, who initially defended the NYPD’s handling of protests over the death of George Floyd, said he would push for faster discipline against problem officers. The mayor’s own daughter, Chiara de Blasio, was arrested during a Manhattan protest Saturday.

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“There are some who do not belong in this job. And there are some that use violence when they shouldn’t. There are some that are disrespectful to the people they serve. There are some that harbor racism in their hearts,” de Blasio said. “These people should not be in the police force. And it’s our job to get them out.”

De Blasio reversed course after initially defending cops who were seen on video plowing into a crowd of protesters with their SUVs.

“There is no situation where a police vehicle should drive into a crowd of protesters or New Yorkers of any kind. It is dangerous. It is unacceptable,” said de Blasio, who in earlier comments had blamed protesters for the incident.

Other videos have shown officers forcefully shoving a young woman to the ground, opening a car door and striking protesters, pulling down a man’s mask and pepper spraying him and pulling a gun on a crowd.

The mayor said the officer who pulled the gun should immediately be stripped of his gun and badge.

“That is unacceptable. That is dangerous,” de Blasio said. “That officer should have his gun and badge taken away today. There will be an investigation immediately to determine the larger consequences.”

The NYPD disciplinary process is typically slow, with many safeguards built in to protect accused officers’ due process rights, and little transparency with the public. De Blasio said Monday that process should be accelerated, but did not provide any details.

“Discipline must be meted out in any case where it’s merited,” he said. “There has to be a faster discipline process. Any time an officer is alleged to have done something inappropriate, there needs to be an immediate investigation, immediate consequences. It always takes too long. It makes people so frustrated, so angry.”

He also called for the state legislature to repeal a law his administration has cited to keep police disciplinary records secret, and replace it with more limited protections for cops’ personal information.

“We need 50-a repealed. Let’s do that in the month of June,” he said.

At the same time, de Blasio said he is considering whether to impose a curfew, a step several other U.S. cities have taken. Late Sunday night, there was looting of stores in SoHo and other Manhattan neighborhoods, the first widespread looting that has taken place in the city during four days of protests.

“We have to look at it as an option,” he said. “We have not made a decision.”

De Blasio said he would discuss the possibility of a curfew with Police Commissioner Dermot Shea and Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Looting “will not be allowed in New York City. We are going to address that very, very aggressively,” he said.

Cuomo, at a later news conference in the city Monday, said he has the legal authority to impose a curfew, but is “not at that point.” But he added, “something has to be done because last night was not acceptable and the night before was not acceptable on any level.”

The governor said he has the National Guard on “standby.”

“They are trained to do this. But I don’t know that it’s a person power issue in New York City. In Minneapolis, it was a person power. They just don’t have a police force large enough to handle it,” the governor told reporters. “I don’t know that the NYPD isn’t big enough — I don’t think that’s the problem.”

Earlier in the day, a calmer tone prevailed at protests around the city. The mayor praised police officers who took a knee in solidarity with protesters.

De Blasio also addressed the arrest of his daughter, 25, which he wasn’t aware of until reporters contacted his office about it.

“I admire that she was out there trying to change something that she thought was unjust, and doing it in a peaceful manner,” he said. “I respect my daughter, I honor her and I know her heart. … She was very clear that she believed she was following the instructions of police officers, and doing what they were asking.”

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in New York amid an ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 21,000 city residents. The city is scheduled to begin reopening its economy in a week, but de Blasio, who has said little about the public health risks of the protests, warned they could spark further spread of the disease.

“I am very, very worried about the health impact,” he said. “There’s a real danger here. There’s no question this could intensify the spread of the coronavirus just at a point where we were starting to beat it back.”

De Blasio said he has been reluctant to discourage protests because he doesn’t want to come off as minimizing protesters’ grievances.

“This moment is the outpouring of such pain and frustration, years and years, decades, generations of pain and frustration,” he said. But for those who have already spent days protesting, he added: “You’ve made your point. It’s time to stay home. If you do go out, please try in any way you can to observe social distancing, and keep those face coverings on.”