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PBA President Politicizes Shooting Of Officer In The Bronx, Blaming Mayor's Crimefighting Policies
By
David Cruz
Published Jan 27, 2021
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NYPD
By
David Cruz
Published Jan 27, 2021
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The shooting of an NYPD officer allegedly at the hands of a 24-year-old man in the Bronx angered the president of the Police Benevolent Association, who appeared to blame the shooting on Mayor Bill de Blasio's crimefighting policies.
At a news briefing offering preliminary details of the shooting, PBA president Pat Lynch appeared alongside de Blasio, a rare appearance as tensions between the two intensified last year following protests on police violence and the PBA's endorsement of President Donald Trump.
The 31-year-old officer, a six-year veteran assigned to a plainclothes anti-gun unit, was shot by the suspect in Soundview following a stop at the corner of Lafayette Avenue and White Plains Road on Tuesday night, according to police. The officer was identified by Bronx Councilmember Fernando Cabrera as Daniel Vargas, who is in stable condition.
Following remarks by de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, Lynch took to the podium to criticize de Blasio's crimefighting strategies that include a greater number of violence interrupters to preempt violent encounters among gangs.
"Millions of dollars on violence interrupters and all these different programs, and thoughts and prayers aren't gonna work," Lynch said at the briefing at Jacobi Medical Center, where the officer was treated. "What we need to do is put cops on the street doing the job we know how to do, train them, hire them, put them on the street, allow them to do the job, and then prosecute the cases when we bring them in."
Bill Neidhart, a spokesperson for de Blasio, said Lynch's "emotions got the best of him."
"This is not the first time Pat Lynch has said something ridiculous about the good people who put themselves in harms way to stop shootings in their own communities," Neidhart said. "The Cure Violence Movement has been a success, and its success will only grow as we continue to invest in this community-driven program to reduce crime without ballooning incarceration rates."
But notwithstanding Lynch's comments of an NYPD hamstrung by policy, the majority of shootings remain unsolved for 2020, according to the NY Post. Shea told the Post that the lack of witness cooperation drove that figure.
Cure Violence models have expanded across since 2010, with 17 precincts in high-crime areas having adopted the program. Early this year, the program was expanded to the 43rd Precinct, where Tuesday's shooting occurred. A 2020 study by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice found that shootings continually decreased as the number of Cure Violence programs increased across the city.
According to Shea, after the officer stopped the man on Lafayette Avenue, it quickly escalated into a gunfight within "the course of seconds."
"Our officer... we believe fired one round. We believe the perpetrator fired four rounds and during that exchange of gunfire our officer was struck one time in the lower back below his bulletproof vest," Shea said. The officer is expected to recover.
The NYPD shared a picture of the gun—its handle wrapped in black electric tape—believed to have belonged to the suspect. The gun was found under a vehicle near the scene, according to the NY Times.
"Tonight we saw extraordinary bravery, extraordinary bravery. Here is an officer, a young officer, out there in the streets of the Bronx, getting guns off the streets to save lives," de Blasio said at the briefing. "The officer, thank God, despite the pain he's in, he was in good spirits. Thank God it looks like he's going to make a very strong recovery, so we're counting our blessings tonight."
In a statement, Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., pressed the Biden administration to prioritize gun violence on the agenda.
“We must show zero tolerance for illegal guns in our streets," Diaz Jr. said. "We need to put pressure on the federal government to pass stricter gun control laws. Our communities are full of firearms that come from other states where buying a gun is an easy job."
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police shooting
David Cruz
David is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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