Another great NY Times op-ed on the NYPD:
Many members of the New York Police Department are furious at Mayor Bill de Blasio and, by extension, the city that elected him. They have expressed this anger with a solidarity tantrum, repeatedly turning their backs to show their collective contempt. But now they seem to have taken their bitterness to a new and dangerous level — by walking off the job.
The New York Post on Tuesday reported, and city officials confirmed, that officers are essentially abandoning enforcement of low-level offenses. According to data The Post cited for the week starting Dec. 22 — two days after two officers were shot and killed on a Brooklyn street — traffic citations had fallen by 94 percent over the same period last year, summonses for offenses like public drinking and urination were down 94 percent, parking violations were down 92 percent, and drug arrests by the Organized Crime Control Bureau were down 84 percent.
Quick thought- if this stuff has dropped by 94%, that means that this notion that there are just a few bad apples in the NYPD is bunk. It’s force-wide. Unless a handful of cops are themselves writing 94% of the summons, which itself is problematic. So the notion that this is just a minority being covered by the majority seems at odds with the fact that we’ve seen a near 100% decrease in police activity.
The list of grievances adds up to very little, unless you look at it through the magnifying lens of resentment fomented by union bosses and right-wing commentators. The falling murder rate, the increased resources for the department, the end of quota-based policing, which the police union despised, the mayor’s commitment to “broken-windows” policing — none of that matters, because many cops have latched on to the narrative that they are hated, with the mayor orchestrating the hate.
It’s a false narrative. Mr. de Blasio was elected by a wide margin on a promise to reform the policing excesses that were found unconstitutional by a federal court. He hired a proven reformer, Mr. Bratton, who had achieved with the Los Angeles Police Department what needs doing in New York. The furor that has gripped the city since the Garner killing has been a complicated mess. But what New Yorkers expect of the Police Department is simple:
1. Don’t violate the Constitution.
2. Don’t kill unarmed people.
To that we can add:
3. Do your jobs. The police are sworn public servants, and refusing to work violates their oath to serve and protect. Mr. Bratton should hold his commanders and supervisors responsible, and turn this insubordination around.
Ouch. That should leave a mark.
When do the firings begin?
Baud
All those people who voted for de Blasio need to stand behind him.
The Other Bob
Maybe instead of proclaiming: “No unnecessary arrests.” They should be saying “No unnecessary killing.”
debbie
I haven’t heard much of anything from Bratton. An odd time for an odd silence from him.
Skerry
No one will be fired. And we need to remember that it wasn’t just the NYPD that turned their backs on the Mayor. Visiting police departments did too. This problem is nationwide.
currants
I thought this piece (from TPM, highlighted at LGM the other day) was an excellent example of the kind of response I at least would like to hear from ALL police departments.
currants
@currants: (and yeah, I know how unlikely…)
CNY Orange
When do the firings begin?
No one will be fired. Considering everyone in a position of leadership abdicated their responsibility when they had a chance to respond.
Hillary Rettig
On another note:
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/capitol/2014/12/30/snyder-signs-law-banning-college-athletic-unions/21062789/
I know zero about sports, but there’s been a lot of talk about how if you’re paying your coach $5M you’re basically running a professional sport. So it would make sense – and is entirely appropriate – for the athletes to unionize. Banning that *on the very same day as the $5M announcement* is basically a fck you to the athletes themselves and the 99% everywhere. It’s saying, we’re going to not just screw you, but in the most blatantly visible and callous way possible–just so you know your place.
satby
@debbie: he was on Press the Meat on Sunday, and is all over local NYC news.
Sherparick
Basically, the NYPD and other departments decided to go into the lager. I would also file a NLRB complaint against the unions for violations of the CBA contract and engaging in ULPs (management can file them as well as unions). I would also require that all police departments, starting with NYPD, about what there job really is and who they really work for.
To prevent crime and disorder, as an alternative to their repression by military force and severity of legal punishment.
To recognise always that the power of the police to fulfil their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behaviour, and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.
To recognise always that to secure and maintain the respect and approval of the public means also the securing of the willing co-operation of the public in the task of securing observance of laws.
To recognise always that the extent to which the co-operation of the public can be secured diminishes proportionately the necessity of the use of physical force and compulsion for achieving police objectives.
To seek and preserve public favour, not by pandering to public opinion, but by constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to law, in complete independence of policy, and without regard to the justice or injustice of the substance of individual laws, by ready offering of individual service and friendship to all members of the public without regard to their wealth or social standing, by ready exercise of courtesy and friendly good humour, and by ready offering of individual sacrifice in protecting and preserving life.
To use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient to obtain public co-operation to an extent necessary to secure observance of law or to restore order, and to use only the minimum degree of physical force which is necessary on any particular occasion for achieving a police objective.
To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
To recognise always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary of avenging individuals or the State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty.
To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them.
Derelict
I hope the police are very happy with their new BFFs in the GOP. I’m sure the cops will continue to shower their love on the GOP even after the party starts pushing to break up the police unions and PBAs.
And every cop everywhere should really be loving the GOP for its continued screeching about law enforcement all being jackbooted thugs that patriots can take potshots at. AND the GOP’s constant push to make sure that everyone has unlimited access to guns, Guns, GUNS!!! in the name of freedumb.
satby
@Hillary Rettig: I think it’s appalling that a college coach would collect that much (actually, I think it’s appalling any professional coach would get that much). If I was an album I’d be letting the uni know they’re not getting any further contribution from me as they obviously have money to burn. But knowing my neighbors, this plays well here. The rivalry with hated Notre Dame is that intense.
AxelFoley
@Baud:
Bingo
satby
@Derelict:
True dat. The enemy of my enemy is still my enemy too. But they fit right in with GOP short term thinking, so there’s that.
MomSense
@Hillary Rettig:
I think the union ban bothers me more than the salary.
debbie
@satby:
Does it seem like he’s offering more than lip service to the police, like in comparison to his defense of stop and frisk?
Judge Crater
They are a bunch of spoiled brats – always have been. They live on Staten Island and Long Island and see themselves as brave patriots who have to police a latter day Gomorrah. They long for the days of Rudy and “Giuliani-time” (look it up).
Tenar Darell
@Hillary Rettig: @satby:
This makes me wonder what happens if schools in other states let their team unionize, will Michigan be able to draw talent anymore? Because they just said to any kid and parent out there: we have money but feck you guys…only your coach gets the payday, you get the full-time job and classes and a higher lifetime risk of severe injuries!
NotMax
@Derelict
New?
Remember the 2004 GOP convention (and resultant successful lawsuits)? Remember Occupy?
Bobby B.
“Police work is only easy in a police state.” The police really got the foundation poured.
Violet
From the sidelines in a completely different part of the country this is kind of fun to watch. Glad I wasn’t wrong about people being appalled by the police tantrums.
D58826
@satby: I was going to make the same point about the conservatives and GOP. They had no problem with that cattle thief Bundy and his militia threatening both federal and local cops and they never have had a problem with Sarah and her gun fetish. They were quite willing to support Sharon Angle and her second amendment solutions. The junior senator from Iowa brags about her little gun to protect herself from the government police state. The sovereign citizen movement has probably murdered more cops over the past decade than all the black radicals/leftists put together. The right was strangely silent about ‘blood on the hands’ when that anti cop shooter killed the Pa. state trooper a few weeks back.
burnspbesq
@Sherparick:
How certain are you that the unions are in breach, and what’s the basis for that belief? You could be right, but my working hypothesis is that the unions are being advised by competent lawyers, and what we’re seeing is a classic work-to-rule slowdown.
Similarly, I’m not sure anything that any of the unions are doing right now fits within the statutory definition of ULP, and I’m sure you’re not advocating that the city start a frivolous action before the NLRB just to get leverage in contract negotiations. Would be happy to have you explain why you think the unions’ conduct is within the statutory definition of ULP.
The potential for irony here is enormous. Liberal union-busters. Sigh.
d58826
@burnspbesq: And the reverse irony of the rightwing standing up for a union
Les Nessman
The police were not created to protect and serve the population. They were not created to stop crime, at least not as most people understand it. And they were certainly not created to promote justice. They were created to protect the new form of wage-labor capitalism that emerged in the mid to late nineteenth century from the threat posed by that system’s offspring, the working class.
Someguy
Consider what that article says – that the cops aren’t making arrests that they don’t have to make.
If the cops know they don’t have to make those arrests, why were they making them before? Given the patterns of who is stopped and arrested, I can only conclude that it is institutional racism.
NYC is blooming in the face of their work stoppage. The three card monte games and squeegee men are back. If they keep it up it won’t be long before NYC recovers some of its natural color and liveliness; maybe Times Square will even recover its old authenticity if DeBlasio can find his spine again and continue to stand up to the cops. Sure, it’ll alienate the gentrifiers. But they can always move to New Jersey where King Christie lives, and ideas like “not making arrests they don’t have to make” will get shot down before they can cross the Hudson.
MomSense
@d58826:
It is so weird isn’t it–unless you look at it through a right wing racial lens and then it makes sense. Just don’t look at it that way for long or you will want to gouge your eyes out. The right wing hate, hate, hate government tyranny especially when a blah person is the head of government. Then they turn into the biggest cheerleaders for the police state when it’s keeping blah people in their place.
D58826
@Les Nessman: Would it require believing in to many pink unicorns to hope that the police have moved from being a state sanctioned gestapo protecting the 1% to a legitimate government function that IS to protect and serve all of us?
D58826
@MomSense: Yep. Ronulus the Magnificent became a big gun control advocate when the people holding the guns were Black Panthers.
jefft
@burnspbesq: “my working hypothesis is that the unions are being advised by competent lawyers”
A fair enough assumption, but an equally valid hypothesis is that they feel that they have the political power to avoid any consequences for their actions
MomSense
@D58826:
I remember. I have a friend who has been saying for years that we will only get gun control when we start forming new gun rights groups like the Militant Feminists With Guns Association, MFWGA or the NAACPWG.
D58826
@MomSense: Maybe we can get Bill Ayers and Rev. Wright to start a gun club. They could call it the Black Panthers Gun club of Kenya Hits any number of rightwing hot buttons
MomSense
@D58826:
I’m in if we can wear Hemingway big game hunting outfits.
D58826
Its not just the NYPD. The full post is over on KOS but here is a sample
Tactics right out of the Gestapo or KGB
burnspbesq
@jefft:
True enough.
Shakezula
I still don’t see why NYPD’s latest tantrum is anything but a win for everyone in NYC. Except the assholes who get off on reports of minorities being killed or assaulted by the police.
Also, fewer traffic tickets? Jesus, they’ll be holding parades for BdB if this keeps up. I’ve heard some Concern that the city will suffer financially if it loses revenue from the tickets, but I have problems with the idea that a city relies heavily on minor criminal fines as a source of revenue. And maybe the city loses more in settlements related to the activities of Killer Keystone Kops than it will from a refusal to write traffic citations.
Really, this is kind of like an obnoxious teen threatening to stay in his room and listen to his music very quietly if he doesn’t get his way. Oh. Woe.
Mike in NC
We need a new national holiday (date TBD) called “Fuck The Cops Day”. They don’t get paid as a reminder who pays their bloated salaries.
LWA (Liberal With Attitude)
Interesting take from a reliably republican publication, The Federalist, condemning the NYPD police action, comparing it to a Latin American coup.
The comments are squid cloud of butthurt.
Violet
@LWA (Liberal With Attitude): If that publication isn’t supporting the cops then it isn’t a Real Conservative publication. No True Conservative publication would refuse to support the cops.
LWA (Liberal With Attitude)
@Violet: oh, I see you’ve read the comments!
Actually, I think this is the visible wedge between the Wall Street and Main Street wings; Wall Street prioritizes order over hating on the blahs.
Lynch and the NYPD prefer it the other way round.
It would be interesting to see the splintering of the Reagan coalition, were Wall Street to crush a few cop unions.
Lizzee
What if the 94% decrease in arrests is actually bringing the arrest rate down to the neighborhood where it should be?
What if 75-80% of arrests are low level harassment and based on little or no actual crime?
What if the usual arrest rates just reflect people making work to keep their jobs?
What if you could reduce the police force and attendant criminal justice system by 50% and still be as safe as you are today?
Think of all the kids who could be put in preschool, all the homeless people who could be housed, all of the misery (that leads to crime) that could be ameliorated?
What kind of world would that be? Pretty fucking awesome!
Here’s to a happier new year.
burnspbesq
@LWA (Liberal With Attitude):
So now we’re linking approvingly to Ben Domenech.
Who gets rehabilitated next? Bobo? Chunky Bobo? Rich Lowry?
Cluttered Mind
@burnspbesq: Pretty sure it wasn’t meant as approval of Domenech, just as a highlight of the splintering of the right wing on this issue.
Citizen_X
@MomSense: Or, as Molly Ivins put it, the Right “claims to hate the Nanny State, but they sure love it when the Nanny State changes sex and puts on a uniform.”
slag
I agree with those who see this decrease in petty crime enforcement as an opportunity. Hopefully, police are spending the time they would otherwise be wasting on these busts on building relationships and connections in the community. You know. Skipping the busy work to focus on the real long-term issues. That’d be nice.
Violet
@burnspbesq: It wasn’t linked approvingly. It was an interesting find in terms of wingnut opinion going in two different directions. Maybe a wedge to break up the coalition.
D58826
In reading the various comments and reactions to the actions of the NYPD I’ve noticed an interesting disconnect. The NYPD and its supporters, esp. those on the wingnut right, argue that it is unfair to expect the cops to solve the societal problems that they face while on the job. The problems of gangs, drugs, family breakdown and poverty are beyond what any police dept. can fix. I think the cops have a point and I doubt that any on the left would disagree. I doubt that the ‘i can’t breath’ protesters would disagree. They might argue that certain police tactics simply make a bad situation worse but the cops aren’t responsible for the bad situation.
Now take a look at the school reformer rhetoric. Poorly performing schools are all the fault of bad teachers. The way to solve the problem in the schools is to fire the bad teachers. Period full stop. When the teachers point out that they to face the same societal problems that the cops do, the wingnuts respond it is simply the whining of overpaid incompetent teachers and their unions. Get rid the the bad teachers and their unions and the problem of bad schools will be fixed.
Cluttered Mind
@Citizen_X: That explains Giuliani…
Elie
I think that sometimes you have to step back and wait for people to hang themselves — and their corrupt causes. I think that this is one of those times. After all, where can they go from here? They (meaning the rogue police leadership and mouthbreathers), have talked and acted themselves out onto a plank (or into a corner). What are their “next steps”? Every day that they speak up and act on radical and unethical motives, they look more and more like banana republic bullies. They are not going to win hearts and minds with this behavior. It is important to not meet their contemptible actions with any reciprocal action that allows them to feel justified to keep showing their asses to the world. Mayor DeBlasio is taking a page right out of the MLK non-violence protocol. He is taking the high road and demonstrating the highest ethical and moral standard. Through that, he allows them to show themselves for what THEY are. Peace to you, Mr.Mayor. Hang in there. It may still be rough ahead, but you are battling more than the NYPD…
Richard Shindledecker
I voted for Bill and am thrilled with his hire of Bratton. Yeah – I’m behind them all the way as are just about all my fellow denizens.
We voted against the thugs and bullies of the Kelly variety and we pay a lot in taxes (where do these cops think their salaries come from The Gun Fairy?).
Seth Owen
Just a style point. It’s not an “op-Ed,” it’d a NY Times editorial.
The cops have been coasting off the 9/11 tragedy for a long time. It’s worth noting that firefighters took an even bigger hit that day, but I see little evidence that insitutionally they feel like they deserve extra special treatment like the cops do. I’ve never heard a firefighter say that his or her first priority is to go home tonight.
Gavin
It’s ironic that much of the NYC police force is Republican.. the Teabaggers in Wisconsin have already showed their true colors by destroying the Wisconsin police unions.
Why, exactly, does the NYC version think that won’t happen to them?
Elie
@Gavin:
The operational word in your comment is “think”. I don’t believe that has been operating in their “stategy” – such as it is other than dragging their knuckles and pounding their clubs on the floor of their cave. They are like some mindless tribal mob having a riot. Once the initial atavistic rage dissipates, they have to be allowed to look around and see what they have damaged… its a LOT of damage.
D58826
@Gavin: Did they destroy the police unions in Wisc? Walker screwed the other public employee unions but I thought his ‘reform’ exempted the police unions.
Couldn't Stand the Weather
@Someguy:
The scenario you describe will chase away many tourists as well as the gentrifiers. The local businesses, Bill DeBlasio and the rest of the NYC pols DO NOT want that.
Of course, such tourists who want a Disney-like substance to visit should not set foot in a city of 8 million people. These visitors are better off in Orlando, where they can have the real thing. Mickey, Minnie, Donald and all.
Kropadope
@Couldn’t Stand the Weather: You think having a reputation for police over-zealousness is a boon to tourism?
RaflW
If you feel like the mayor and many of the citizens who elected said mayor hate you and hate your line of work, I have an extremely easy solution: quit.
Quit, you lousy fucking whiners. Do it now.
And Happy New Year.
LT
Holy fuck this is a newspaper doing its fucking job. Hell fucking yes.
My Truth Hurts
As someone who grew up in Chicago getting fleeced and shook down by the city at every opportunity through tickets and fines and vehicle stickers and taxes and the like, I see no problem with this lack of action. It just proves how much of policing is used to fund civil governments and how unneeded it all is.
Matt
@D58826:
If teachers got to kill unheartlandishly-hued kids for mouthing off – or at least torture them with electricity – the RW would like them a whole lot more.
mclaren
No, I think many cops are right.
And most of the time, the hatred is deserved.
America has completely abandoned Robert Peel’s 9 principles of policing
American police view themselves not as non-violent members of the public with a responsibility toward the citizenry, but as superior members of a hostile occupying army whose job involves crushing any peon who dares show any sign of resisting the hostile occuption.
What else can a populace possibly do other than hate such a hostile occupying force?