Citations for traffic offences dropped 94% during the week. In the 87th precinct where Ramos and Liu worked, only one citation was issued all week. Summons for minor offences such as urinating or drinking in public places were also down 94%, while parking tickets issued were 92% of the number issued in the same week in 2013.
More disturbing, the number of drug arrests was 84% lower than the number made the year before. Police are only making arrests when they have to and are letting a number of minor crimes go. Those that laughed at the broken windows theory of crime are now panicking.
The reason for the unofficial slowdown is the comment Mayor Bill de Blasio made following the grand jury’s decision not to indict the police officer who administered what at least appeared to be a chokehold on Eric Garner. Garner, who committed the horrendous crime of selling illegal “loosies” in front of a Staten Island store, was being uncooperative with officers and the cops took him down. Garner uttered the now famous phrase “I can’t breathe” before collapsing and dying.
In a speech made shortly after the grand jury’s decision, the mayor talked about his mixed race son, Dante. It is unclear why Dante is referred to as “mixed race’ while Barack Obama, who also had one black parent and one white parent is always referred to as “black.”
De Blasio told reporters he worried about Dante over the years and wondered if he was safe every night. The mayor said he was worried not only about his son’s safety from crime and violence but also about his safety from the police. The mayor also said children have to be taught they should be afraid of police. De Blasio defended his remarks saying what he talked about was reality.
The rhetoric heated up and the slowdown began after Ramos and Liu were executed while sitting in their patrol car on a Brooklyn Street. They were each shot in the head by a shooter who had no interaction with them; they were killed only because they were cops to avenge the deaths of Garner and Michael Brown.
In Toronto in the early 1990s, the
Toronto Star ran a series of articles accusing the city’s police force of racial profiling and being racist. At that time, police considered imposing what they call FIDO—Forget It, Drive On, although another word beginning with “F” was usually substituted for “Forget.” The police talked about it and threatened to do it but never followed through. The refusal to arrest people for even minor crimes is serious business.
As well as the work slowdown, some NYPD members turned their backs on de Blasio when he visited the dead officers’ families at the hospital and as he left Ramos’ funeral. The mayor was booed when he spoke at a police graduation ceremony. Planes were hired to fly around New York carrying banners calling on de Blasio to resign.
With leaders like Obama, Sharpton and de Blasio fanning the flames the status quo will continue
There are no signs of the protests against the police abating and as long as de Blasio is around, the police slowdown is not likely to stop anytime soon. And it is only a matter of time before another white cop shoots another black “child” like Brown under justifiable circumstances that will be viewed by blacks and progressives as a racial murder. With leaders like Obama, Sharpton and de Blasio fanning the flames the status quo will continue.
Eventually someone will die because the police did not get to the scene on time. Although police cannot be everywhere, the usual suspects will blame the cops and the slowdown. Ironically, those who will suffer the most from the slowdown will be poor minorities, the ones the progressives say they are trying to help. De Blasio must know this; but he doesn’t care.
The situation in NYC is like a losing professional sports team. They can get rid of all the players, get new ones and start again. Or they can fire the coach or manager. All police officers taking part in the protest could be fired and replaced. There are enough unemployed Americans to fill those jobs, not to mention all the illegals streaming across what used to be the southern border. But that of course is highly unrealistic.
The only solution to the problem is for de Blasio to resign. But, being a good progressive, that will never happen. It is enough for the mayor to show he cares about all the young black males who are victimized by racist cops to convince himself he’s doing the right thing. He doesn’t care about the effects his actions have had on New Yorkers. He doesn’t care about the loss of revenue to the city even though it was the need for this revenue that led to police officers confronting Garner for selling illegal cigarettes. And of course de Blasio doesn’t care about the facts; the fact that Brown was not holding his hands up, yelling “don’t shoot” and the fact that if excessive force was used on Garner, it was because of his size, not the colour of his skin.
If de Blasio really cared about New Yorkers, the blacks, the poor and other minorities, he would resign
It doesn’t help de Blasio is being supported not only by the president of the United States but by the
New York Times. In an
article published on December 29, the Times blamed the NYPD, calling the actions of the police “passive aggressive” and accusing police of engaging in “self-pity.” According to the newspaper, policing is a thankless job and has always been that way. Nothing new here so the cops should get over it.
The
NYT refuses, as does de Blasio and others, to see the difference between police officers who are killed while having interaction with the killer who is likely trying to prevent arrest and the brazen murder of Ramos and Liu who had no contact with the shooter but were shot in the head because they were wearing NYPD uniforms.
If de Blasio resigned for the sake of the city he would have to apologize for his remarks about his son and the police. But with apologies to Erich Segal, being a progressive means never having to say you’re sorry. While officers did salute the mayor at the wake for Officer Liu, the situation is far from over.
If de Blasio really cared about New Yorkers, the blacks, the poor and other minorities, he would resign and let the city to get back to normal. But he doesn’t and he won’t.
