Mayor Adams weighed in on the incident Wednesday morning during a public safety announcement about retail theft ... calling the whole thing especially reckless in NYC because of the dense population and traffic. Adams was especially pissed that two NYPD officers could have been injured -- not to mention Harry, Meghan, and innocent bystanders.

The mayor added, "It's clear that the press, paparazzi, they want to get the right shot, they want to get the right story, but public safety must always be at the forefront."

As we reported, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were involved in a dangerous high-speed chase Tuesday night. The chase lasted about two hours and, according to H&M's reps, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians, and officers. Markle's mom was also in the SUV with them before they all jumped into a taxi to get away.

Adams emphasized, "I don't think there's many of us who don't recall how his mom died" -- obviously referring to Harry's mom Princess Diana, who was killed in a '97 crash after paps chased her car in Paris.

The mayor noted that it's hard to believe paps were chasing them around at full speed for the full two hours, but regardless he says even 10 minutes is too long.