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Photos & Video Show NYPD Officers, Including Top Brass, Openly Flouting Mask Mandate
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 9, 2020
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NYPD
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Sep 9, 2020
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Last week, NYPD Deputy Chief Thomas Burns retired from the department after a 36-year career. According to a video tweeted by NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea, Chief Burns received a significant sendoff, including a large indoor gathering inside police headquarters that seemingly violated state health guidance prohibiting events with more than 50 people. Many in the crowd can be seen without masks on.
Chief Burns's job was the commanding officer of the NYPD's Family Assistance Division, which helps the loved ones of officers who are ill or have died in the line of duty. More than 40 members of the NYPD have died from the coronavirus since the pandemic began, thousands more have called out sick with the illness. And CNN recently reported that COVID-19 is the leading cause of death among law enforcement in the country.
Asked about the retirement ceremony on Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio first praised Chief Burns.
"First of all, the Chief who retired did absolutely amazing work for this city and we're gonna miss him," de Blasio said. "I have not seen the video, from what I've heard, it sounds like a mistake that needs to be rectified going forward."
He added, "I was out in Soundview in the Bronx yesterday, talked to a number of police officers, they all had their face masks on. That's what we expect from police officers and everyone...I know the NYPD has sent that message to its members many, many, times and they need to keep doing it and get it right."
The NYPD declined to comment on the retirement ceremony, or on the department's adhering to mask-wearing standards. Messages left with a number for Chief Burns were not returned.
On Monday, the Detectives' Endowment Association hosted a canteen for officers working on Labor Day, and promoted the effort with a tweet showing hundreds of NYPD officers without masks on.
The first thing to appear on the DEA's website is a takeover ad: a plea for a donation for the "six brave Detectives [who] lost their lives to COVID-19."
Reps from the DEA have not responded to multiple requests for comment.
Seth Prins, an epidemiologist and professor at Columbia's Mailman School of Public Health, said the countless photos and videos of NYPD officers without masks on were "disturbing."
"It's this kind of behavior that could lead to a second wave, or a second surge, of the virus," Prins told Gothamist.
Asked what could be done to improve mask-wearing by NYPD officers, Prins, who studies mass incarceration and public health, said, "I wish it was as simple as obeying a mask rule."
"I think it suggests more systemic issues—a lack of transparency and accountability in law enforcement, that need to be addressed first."
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said in a statement that the cops' refusal to wear masks "undercuts a crucial message and mandate of public health and public safety."
"The best way those of us in leadership and enforcement positions can encourage New Yorkers to follow lifesaving COVID safety measures is to demonstrate these practices ourselves," Williams said.
Tagged
COVID-19
nypd
pandemic
Christopher Robbins
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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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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