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Cops Ordered To "Do Their Jobs" In Sternly-Worded NY Times Editorial
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 31, 2014
Modified Dec 31, 2014
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By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 31, 2014
Modified Dec 31, 2014
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The NY Times has a crazy suggestion for NYPD officers who've been joining a city-wide work slowdown in the past week: Do your job. In a scathing editorial published today, the paper of record takes a sober look at what exactly Mayor de Blasio has done to provoke such a toxic backlash from the NYPD (short answer: Al Sharpton) and concludes:
The list of grievances adds up to very little, unless you look at it through the magnifying lens of resentment fomented by union bosses and right-wing commentators. The falling murder rate, the increased resources for the department, the end of quota-based policing, which the police union despised, the mayor’s commitment to “broken-windows” policing — none of that matters, because many cops have latched on to the narrative that they are hated, with the mayor orchestrating the hate.
It’s a false narrative. Mr. de Blasio was elected by a wide margin on a promise to reform the policing excesses that were found unconstitutional by a federal court. He hired a proven reformer, Mr. Bratton, who had achieved with the Los Angeles Police Department what needs doing in New York. The furor that has gripped the city since the Garner killing has been a complicated mess. But what New Yorkers expect of the Police Department is simple:
Don’t violate the Constitution.
Don’t kill unarmed people.
To that we can add:
- Do your jobs. The police are sworn public servants, and refusing to work violates their oath to serve and protect. Mr. Bratton should hold his commanders and supervisors responsible, and turn this insubordination around.
Well, that settles that! Be careful jaywalking or boozing on the subway tonight, because cops are going to be cracking down again once this Times editorial is read at roll call.
According to the Post, overall arrests were 66 percent lower last week than they were a year prior, with traffic tickets and low-level offense summonses plummeting by 94 percent. There were only 587 traffic violation citations issued last week, and 300 summonses for violations like public urination, as compared with 10,067 traffic citations and 4,832 low-level summonses in 2013.
Yesterday de Blasio met with top NYPD union leaders at the police academy in Queens for two hours. The meeting was closed to the press, but sources tell the Wall Street Journal that de Blasio "didn't offer an apology for his comments or actions. Instead, he challenged the union leaders to examine transcripts of his public statements because he told them there have been no antipolice comments."
The Times sources say that "among the unions’ complaints were the wide latitude given to protesters in recent weeks and the mayor’s relationship with the Rev. Al Sharpton." De Blasio did not respond to the Sharpton criticism, but reportedly admitted that he needs to "find a way" to turn officers' backs around.
“I was expecting more,” one union official said after the meeting, according to the Times. "We were all scratching our heads over what is getting solved."
De Blasio did not speak to the press after the meeting, but PBA President Pat Lynch kept being Lynchy, telling reporters, "There was no resolve and our thought here today is that actions speak louder than words and time will tell. We came here today to have a discussion. Our main concern is the safety of our police officers of every rank on the streets of the city and the safety of the citizens that we proudly serve." When they feel like it.
Tagged
crime
nyc
nypd
pat lynch
police unions
work slowdown
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
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