The rollercoaster ride of public sentiment for or against the NYPD over the last 30 years has been exhausting. From the turbulence of the mid-70s through the mid-90s to the trials and tribulations of the pandemic, the New York City Police Department has had its share of the good, the bad and the ugly. And in my short, but certainly vivid, 48 years on this mudball, I have met many of New York’s Finest who I am proud to have called friends or colleagues, including Commissioners, Chiefs of the Department, Captains and all the way down the line to the neighborhood foot patrol.
When I was a little boy growing up in Manhattan, we were taught to respect the police. We were told that the police were here to protect the public. There was never a question of that from much of the population of this city. Yes, back then you still had a fair number of bad apples that did some very bad things including corruption, acting with racial or religious bias, and the like. But the vast majority of the NYPD has always been honest, forthright and willing to put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve the People. To that young version of myself, the thought of being an NYPD officer was an honor, especially being sworn to duty with the most respected police department on Earth. And I still feel that way today.
When I was a kid, most of the NYPD were of Irish, Italian, Jewish, Black, Hispanic, or Chinese heritage. Did that provide an opportunity for bad actors to do bad things? Yes. The majority of the department then were either black or white. There were not too many brown-skinned officers, nor were there too many Asian officers. That allowed certain people to allow their personal bias or hate to show through in some very egregious ways. Again, we are talking about a minority of folks within the department during a very different time period. Thankfully, the lion’s share of that has changed with today’s NYPD. The rank and file now includes cultures from all over the world, providing the largest police force in the country with a real understanding of global beliefs and behaviors. That has resulted in hate bias and gross neglect by our local law enforcement to dramatically drop since 1976.
During the pandemic, we saw accusations across the board of racial bias amongst the rank and file. That was a gross overstatement fueled by certain people that profited from disgraceful race baiting tactics, as well as inciting more reprehensible behaviors that led to record arrest numbers at the time. Then Bill de Blasio, the least liked, respected and trusted Mayor in NYC history, turned his back on the department. By either remaining silent against dangerous narratives being touted or echoing the rhetoric that the progressives were spewing at the time, de Blasio’s behavior and decisions, in my opinion, only fueled more bogus bias lawsuits to be filed against officers for doing nothing more than their job.
Of course, it didn’t help that de Blasio and then City Council Speaker Corey Johnson ordered the department to stop enforcing low-level crimes such as public urination and defecation, graffiti, public intoxication, retail theft under $900 (we all know how well that has worked out for the city since every product at Walgreens and CVS are now behind lock and key), etc.
Those decisions single-handedly increased crime exponentially as the pandemic took hold. Then the unthinkable happened; de Blasio actually emptied out the jails and prisons into our neighborhoods under the guise of “pandemic relief” to “protect” the prisoners from the virus. Um, a prison is THE literal definition of quarantine in that these people are segregated from the population. How did that make any sense? It didn’t. Compound this with disgraced former Governor and wishes-he-was-Mayor Andrew Cuomo’s bail reform and you have the perfect storm.
Yet despite all of that, the New York City Police Department’s members still put their lives on the line for our citizens and visitors, every single day. On September 11, they ran into the Towers that were collapsing to save lives. Every day, we see the police on the streets protecting the People. And it is a job that is more thankless than not. That is the real crime.
THE FINAL WORD
The NYPD are here to protect and serve the People. But they are not just law enforcement. They are members of our community. They are part of our families. They are our brothers and sisters. Isn’t it time we started acting like it? Please join me in wishing our brothers and sister in blue, a very Happy, Healthy, and Safe Holiday Season.