. . . is still a strike.
It’s not a slowdown — it’s a virtual work stoppage.
NYPD traffic tickets and summonses for minor offenses have dropped off by a staggering 94 percent following the execution of two cops — as officers feel betrayed by the mayor and fear for their safety, The Post has learned.
The dramatic drop comes as Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio plan to hold an emergency summit on Tuesday with the heads of the five police unions to try to close the widening rift between cops and the administration.
. . .
Angry union leaders have ordered drastic measures for their members since the Dec. 20 assassination of two NYPD cops in a patrol car, including that two units respond to every call.
. . .
Police sources said Monday that safety concerns were the main reason for the dropoff in police activity, but added that some cops were mounting an undeclared slowdown in protest of de Blasio’s response to the non-indictment in the police chokehold death of Eric Garner.
“The call last week from the PBA is what started it, but this has been simmering for a long time,” one source said.
“This is not a slowdown for slowdown’s sake. Cops are concerned, after the reaction from City Hall on the Garner case, about de Blasio not backing them.”
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association has warned its members to put their safety first and not make arrests “unless absolutely necessary.”
There’s more at the link.
I don’t blame the NYPD cops at all. If I were in their shoes, faced with a mayor who’s actively trash-talked them and shown no support for them whatsoever (except for the past couple of weeks, after two of them were murdered), I’d be doing the same.
Bad cops are one thing. They need to be dealt with, as severely as possible. However, most cops aren’t bad. They’re tarred with the brush of the few bad ones, and do their best to do their jobs in spite of that handicap. If, in the process, they’re thrown under the bus by rabble-rousing leaders, it’s a very effective counter to simply stop routine policing and leave it to Hizzoner to find another way to do it. He won’t, of course. He can’t.
I just hope the cops don’t blink, and back down. The only real solution in New York now is for Hizzoner to go . . . and he won’t want to. He’s going to cling to power no matter what his mistakes. Things could get nasty for a while in New York city.
Peter
If there were good cops, they would spend most of their time arresting bad cops. They all wear the same uniform. They all stand behind the "blue wall of silence". They can all be tarred with the same brush.
"not make arrests “unless absolutely necessary.”
They were making unnecessary arrests before?
Yes. This 'few bad apples' stuff doesn't work anymore, because they aid and abet the criminals with the badge on.
But, to the specifics of N.Y., one of the reasons Eric Garner is dead is because the city has made the police department a revenue generating device. The bulk of what they stopped doing is crap they shouldn't be doing. They should protect and serve. They shouldn't be filling ticket quotas and nosing around to bust people on trivial things just to keep the courts in business. The police could rebuild their reputation if it goes out that they aren't going to be arresting people who may or may not be selling loose cigarettes. Let them point out how it is the mayor, and those who make the laws who created this stupid situation in the first place.
I expect to see a story soon that this isn't a slow down but an example of smart policing. Arrests are down because crime is down. I suspect police are taking few reports of crimes so, initially at least, numbers may actually back this.
And then Al Roker will be mugged live on TV.
As I see it, many of the laws are unnecessary and thus lead to unnecessary arrests (such as Garner). They must. The police must not pick and choose which laws are or are not applied. The law must be applied blindly. (it isn't of course, but the theory should be the guide)
If there are too many laws to enforce or if there are laws that lead to unnecessary arrests the fault lies not with the police. It lies with the legislature that passed the laws and the people that demanded them.
The amount of money that various places generate from police fines is amazing. Back in '05, the NJ State Police stopped writing tickets, for essentially the same reason, no support from management. Six months later, it hit the newspapers that most of the towns were going broke, as about 80% of their revenue was their share of those tickets. (NJ has the highest density of speed radar of the entire country.)
Unfortunately, the people of NJ never fixed this stupid problem of relying on speeding tickets to fund their towns.
Garner was arrested (and killed) for selling LOOSE CIGARETTES. May the strike never end!
Antibubba
Agreed.
I meant agreed with the original post.
But I also agree with Chris Mallory's post.
– Charlie
Perhaps if NYPD stops victimizing people by arresting them for violating nonsensical statuatory laws, fewer of them would get shot in the future. They are acting rationally, and hopefully will stay with this "slow-down" indefinitely.
Until the alleged Mayor makes a definitive and unequivocal break with Sharpton, then the NYPDers would be shmucks to be the first to take a step towards the so-called rationality urged by the so-called sane minds in the media and elsewhere.
This does not necessarily mean that the cops all need to turn their backs to Commissar de Blasio at the upcoming funeral of Officer Liu. The Captain's union president Roy Richter did send out a memo to his constituency saying that "cold, steely silence" would be more appropriate. There may be some merit in it.
But if I were a rank-and-file NYPD Patrolman, I would think long and hard before going with the "cold, steely silence" option.
Actually, it is possible to turn one's back to Blaz in cold, steely silence. Perhaps that would be the best of both worlds.
Society does not need 90% of the laws on the books…..politicians need them. Eliminate those bad laws and you can fire most of the LEO who invariably and inevitably go bad.
Of course that isn't going to happen as politicians don't work for us and their greed is insatiable. The problem is institutionalized and inherent to the system. The whole thing needs to be burnt to the ground and a fresh start made. The current system is corrupt beyond repair.
LEO are a reflection of the politicians who set hiring standards and write the policies they follow. Those in charge WANT "bad cops" and so that is what we have….any "good cops" who won't go along with the system are excommunicated from the brotherhood as soon as identified.