[UPDATE] NYPD Officer Answers Questions About Occupy Wall Street On Reddit

Christopher Robbins

Published Nov 20, 2011

Modified Nov 20, 2011

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Roberta Munoz / Gothamist

Christopher Robbins

Published Nov 20, 2011

Modified Nov 20, 2011

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A two-year veteran of the NYPD who has been "a part of the OWS detail for awhile" took to Reddit a few hours ago to answer questions about the occupation and the NYPD's response. Which side is responsible for the "tension" between the protesters and the police? "Both. We stepped in to prevent anything unlawful by setting up a perimeter, but protesters saw that as us moving in to shut them down, which is not what we came in to do." If cops are part of the 99%, why don't they join the protest? "I wouldn't join because if I happen to do something dumb in the crowd and get arrested for it I can lose my job...I know a few that have attended off duty."

When asked how the protests will end, the NYPD employee gives two scenarios: "1. They will convince the national government to change. 2. A spark will ignite and it will turn into a riot, forcing us to maintain order in the area with poor results on both ends." The officer, who says, "I love interacting with the community," recognizes that the majority of the demonstrators aren't violent: "We know that for the most part that the protesters are being quite peaceful, however there are a few out of the bunch that get nasty and break the law."

It's an illuminating read, one you wish you could see more often, as the NYPD officer (his identity was confirmed, confidentially, by Reddit's staff) talks about pressure from the IAB, feeding a family on $50K a year, and the one of the sweetest details an officer can have: "Damn I would LOVE to work a Yankee game. Make friends in high places for that kind of job."

[UPDATE] All of the comments and answers written by the NYPD officer, including the prompt for the discussion, have been deleted. The user, "JustACop," explains why in a follow up post:

Hello, reddit. Thanks for having me for that AMA - however it seems that someone found out who I was and thought it was a good idea to contact the department. I don't want to risk any trouble, so I thank metaranha for clearing out that thread. Thanks for your questions and comments. For the most part you all had very interesting and intelligent questions, with the occasional "fuck da police" thrown in. I had an awesome time answering everyone. You're more than welcome to message me privately if you have anything you want to talk about, but I'm deleting the rest of my comments from that thread.

A representative from Reddit tells us that to their knowledge, the NYPD hasn't contacted them.

Tagged

crime

nypd

occupy wall street

ows

police

protests

understanding

Christopher Robbins

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Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.

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