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Are These Cops On Facebook Looking Forward To Cracking Protesters' Skulls?
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 15, 2011
Modified Dec 15, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 15, 2011
Modified Dec 15, 2011
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Cops on the Internet: A volatile combination that yields almost as many silly situations as cats on the Internet! Just weeks after a Facebook group called "No More West Indian Day Detail" prompted the NYPD to investigate whether officers made offensive comments, another Facebook thread has surfaced that could prove embarrassing for the NYPD (if that's even possible). This one, dug up by Addicting Info, shows people who appear to be cops looking forward to beating Occupy Wall Street protesters.
The comments were made on the Facebook page of Michael DeRosa, Sr., whose name also appears in the West Indian Day Parade group (see page 9). In that discussion, DeRosa made the benign yet weird comment, "When you go to a parade and the upper brass hands out ear plugs and human containment nets..... Lets just say there is no Santa at the end of this one......" Here, DeRosa says he's off to the Brooklyn Bridge to police protests that were part of a November 17th "day of action," which began with demonstrators attempting to shut down the Stock Exchange.
"On my way to Wall Street," DeRosa announces. "Let the savagery begin... Hey Aaron see it's not a racist statement!" We've asked the NYPD press office to confirm if any of the Facebook users here are NYC cops, and we'll update if we hear back. But it's worth noting that one of DeRosa's friends, Rey Hernandez, literally uses a thin blue line for his Facebook profile photo. His comment is: "Wish I was there with you guys. It would be nice to crack a white guy over the head. lmao." And Wayne Rhatigan's name matches that of this NYPD officer, who made the call to evacuate Times Square when a van full of explosives was discovered.
To be sure, NYPD officers are also human beings allowed to have opinions and make with the jokes, but after seeing repeated incidents of New York City cops brutally suppressing activists, you'll forgive us for not finding a public servant's eagerness to crack skulls all that amusing. Many a truth is said in jest, as the saying goes.
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occupy wall street
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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