NYT Op-Ed: "Why We’re So Mad at de Blasio"

[markpkessinger]

NOTE: I am sharing this Op-Ed, by a retired NYPD officer, less for the content of the Op-Ed itself -- which, frankly, brings nothing new or noteworthy to the discussion -- than for the reader comments, the thoughtfulness and eloquence of which far surpass the Op-Ed. The NYPD, with it's continued petulant, self-pitying and childish behavior is losing the public, as indeed it deserves to.

[font size=5]Why We’re So Mad at de Blasio[/font]

< . . . . >

The murders of Officer Liu and his partner, Officer Rafael Ramos, have hit me and my fellow officers especially hard, in ways that may be difficult for civilians, and certain politicians, to fully comprehend. During my 20 years on the job (I retired in 2003), I attended far too many funerals for cops killed in the line of duty. They were all sad and wrenching affairs. But this is different. Getting killed while, say, investigating an armed robbery — as almost happened on Monday to two New York City police officers in the Bronx — is something all cops know can occur, and we accept it. But the killing of Officers Liu and Ramos was a coldblooded assassination.

These brave men were shot without warning, sitting in their patrol car while looking for crime, something every cop on the street does every day. They were like two shepherds guarding their flock, and they were brutally murdered for it.

This act has unleashed a torrent of anger and grief among the members of the Police Department, who take these vile murders personally, and a heartening outpouring of sympathy from ordinary New Yorkers, who instinctively grasp what it has meant at a moment when the police feel demonized, demoralized and, at times, literally under assault. But not everyone is so understanding. The gestures of protest by many officers toward Mayor Bill de Blasio — including turning their backs to him when he appeared at both officers’ funerals — have been characterized in some quarters as squandering the credibility of the department and reeking of self-pity.

When I hear this sort of thing, my blood pressure goes through the roof. Mr. de Blasio is more than any other public figure in this city responsible for feelings of demoralization among the police. It did not help to tell the world about instructing his son, Dante, who is biracial, to be wary of the police, or to publicly signal support of anti-police protesters (for instance, by standing alongside the Rev. Al Sharpton, a staunch backer of the protests). If there is any self-pity involved, which I doubt, it is only because we lack respect from our elected officials and parts of the media. It has taken two dead cops for some people to take a step back and realize what a difficult job cops have.

< . . . . >

[Dont call me Shirley]

1. If they are "Looking for crime"...

they will find it amongst themselves, in the boardrooms, in the mansions of the rich, in the halls of government, as well as out on the streets. It just depends on where they are looking.

If they are serving and protecting, they will find people in need.

[roguevalley]

26. I wonder how many funerals he ruined by turning his back on the mayor?

if this job was compulsory I would find his pleading to 'understand' easier to take but he joined. He knew what the margins were and it doesn't excuse for one second the actions of bad cops among them. He is responsible for the bad eggs as teachers are for theirs. I am unmoved.

[Dont call me Shirley]

31. The wrong-wingers hate DeBlasio. They are using the murder of 2 officers to take him down.

Talk about dishonoring the lives of those 2 officers. Those who turned their backs are political hacks.

[JI7]

2. they really need to get over themselves, the level of whine coming from them shows how bad

the problem is within the NYPD .

[arcane1]

3. Wow, that's some tone-deaf shit right there!

The mind boggles

Yes, don't blame the police for the mayor having to warn his son about them, blame the mayor. BLame the mayor for the outrage that followed the Garner murder

[SomethingFishy]

4. "It is only because we lack respect from our elected officials and parts of the media"

Respect is earned, not just given because you have a badge and a gun.

Wow, I read about 2 pages of comments and still hadn't seen on in support of the actions of the police..

[easychoice]

5. WOW!!! Some of the commenters knocked it right out of the park.

Thanks for posting this.It appears that N.Y.'s finest is their citizens...

[KittyWampus]

6. You may have attended "far too many funerals for cops" but the number is small compared

to the numbers of civilians killed/maimed/abused by cops.

To write an editorial and not even acknowledge the problem with civilian deaths shows a complete lack of connectedness to society as a while.

Mr. de Blasio pointed out an inconvenient fact that apparently many NYC cops can't handle.

Young black men have to take many precautions against being unfairly targeted by you and your colleagues and they should not have to.

TYPICAL BULLY BEHAVIOR BLAME VICTIMS.

[napkinz]

7. "instructing his son, Dante, who is biracial, to be wary of the police"

Mayor de Blasio has NOTHING to apologize for, NO ONE to apologize to!





Andray @AndrayDomise
Follow
I really want people to remember that Bill de Blasio was blamed for police deaths by virtue of being a responsible parent to a black son.
5:13 PM - 20 Dec 2014 1,862 Retweets 1,369 Favorites

https://twitter.com/andraydomise/status/546503765302722560

[sheshe2]

17. Tears~

[daleanime]

24. Nice!

[tenderfoot]

8. The replies from NYTs readers to this are brilliant!

Thank goodness for that!

[sendero]

9. Wahhhhh..

.... If you are demoralized, maybe it is because you feel the support of the communities you "serve" slipping away. Blame THAT on yourselves. You earned it with your indefensible actions and your simpering attitude.

Don't like being a cop? Get a different job. EVERYONE HAS A DIFFICULT JOB. Grow up.

[MannyGoldstein]

10. The author's lack of self-awareness is staggering

Great comments, thanks for posting this!

Has any opinion polling of NYCers been done on this matter?

[markpkessinger]

12. The only poll I am aware of was by Quinnipiac on Dec. 18 . . .

. . . which expressed some dissatisfaction with the Mayor's handling of the situation. But that was BEFORE the two funerals and the NYPD's back-turning stunts. I suspect polling might be a bit different now.

[BeyondGeography]

11. Great comments

It's basically, stop whining and play by same rules that any other industry that is involved with life-and-death matters is subject to. Independent scrutiny results in better outcomes and wouldn't that be nice? It's straightforward reasoning that no amount of foot-stamping by the PBA can debunk.

[KittyWampus]

13. The comments are great. I read quite a few and couldn't find ONE supportive of the sentiments

from the whinging bully cop.

[n2doc]

18. There are some in there

Just looking at the first page that came up, there were 3. But the vast majority were not supportive of the article.

[SunSeeker]

14. I LOVE this comment by a New York City teacher:

Gina Trent Brooklyn, NY

I am a New York City public school teacher, and therefore, like the police, a civil servant. When teachers are proven to have abused students, and the public's trust, no one feels more strongly that those teachers should be removed from their positions than other teachers. Like the police, we often feel terribly disrespected by society and by our administrators. However, unlike the police, we would never take out our dissatisfaction on the people we serve -- in our case, our students.

[spanone]

15. this is an example of de Blasio speaking truth to entrenched corrupt power.

he had absofuckinglutely nothing to do with the murder of these two officers.

the police are not under any assault. they are under fucking reform.



this is why the mayor was elected.

[JaneyVee]

16. OMG READ THE COMMENTS HAHAHA!

[LoveIsNow]

19. "two shepherds watching their flock"

This guy is laying it on thick.

[markpkessinger]

20. Indeed he is! n/t

[lunasun]

21. Oh look he has a book coming out! Glad this inciter retired after 20 years and only has a pen

to do harm now

[DeSwiss]

22. What. An. Asshole.

So if they're the ''shepherds'' in this scenario, I suppose that would make us the sheep?

- Now I see why they're pissed. We're supposed to just say baaaaaaaa to everything they do........

K&R

[lovemydog]

23. The more they argue it's apparent

that they're petulant, self-pitying and childish.

They're upset that the mayor told his biracial son to be wary of police? That's good advice. They're upset because he stood next to Rev. Al Sharpton? Mayors stand next to a lot of people. Now they want to discredit the mayor? Fat chance. He's a good man with a good family who was democratically elected by a large margin.

Thanks for sharing this op-ed, markpkessinger.

[panader0]

25. Bush kissed the Saudis, Rummy met with Saddam, etc., etc., etc.

These people are nuts.

[Mr.Bill]

27. The raw audacity

of him thinking he is my shepherd and I am in his flock makes me sick.

I wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire.

[Thinkingabout]

28. To the president of the NYC police union, it was disgraceful you and some of your union members

Decided to do your protest at the wakes and funerals of your fallen members, not having respect for the families of these officers is not acceptable, it ranks right with the Westboro Baptist Church showing up at the funerals if our troops. It would serve you and your fellow union members well if you gave a heartfelt apology. In fact if I was a member of your union I would have yelled really and started a petition to have you removed from office, you have placed a big ugly mark on unions.

[procon]

29. This cop throws a better Pity Party than my teenaged daughter ever did.

It makes me nervous when men with guns start whining about their feelings because people are ridiculing their behavior and not according their petty sniveling the due respect they mistakenly think it warrants. This high strung fellow can't even handle a simple truth like warning your kids to be extra circumspect around flighty, overwrought men with guns without having his 'blood pressure goes through the roof', and yet he still demands respect.

He also wants a lot more praise, and preferably the additional ego-stroking will include an extensive amount of melodramatic flattery. He also notes that he would feel better if the homage was delivered by some who's not on the 'left'. Evidently Mr. de Blasio isn't giving him enough booklicking compliments or following up with roses and a dinner invitation.

I think this cop would look lovely in pink slip.

[cheyanne]

30. Open letter to Osborne NYT article

Dear Mr. Osbourne,

Thank you for presenting your view of the split between the police and the Administration. and your eloquent description of the feelings of a policeman and his family. Though your article is a vivid description of the feelings that motivate you and other policemen, I find that, beneath the emotions you express, I find a way forward for both sides to come together.
I here would like to separate some of the strands of your article in order to see where it might lead a reader to a better understanding of the situation.
Here is my take on what you are saying.

But the killing of Officers Liu and Ramos was a coldblooded assassination.
First, I have to take exception to your characterization of the deaths of Ramos and Lui. As terrible as the shooting was, it was not a “coldblooded assassination”. It was an act of a mentally unbalanced man who was able to get access to a gun. His motivation to kill police was not based on a reasoned vendetta, but a desire to strike out from the depths of his turmoil, as is shown by his shooting of his ex-girl friend.
But your extreme reaction, that you place the killings in the most heinous light as an assassination, seems puzzling to me. However in your next paragraph you explain the basis for your characterization:
police feel demonized, demoralized and, at times, literally under assault.
This is the underlying feeling that you are expressing. It appears that recent events have been a flash point for the expression of these feelings by the police.
Mr. de Blasio is more than any other public figure in this city responsible for feelings of demoralization among the police.
It is hard to believe that, in such a short time, the Mayor has been able to demoralize whole police department. You mention two recent examples: his talk with his son and his support of protesters. But these are both words and not actions. They may set off an explosion but the combustable material had to be there. The depth of the feelings that you attribute to the police seem to be of a longer standing. There must be earlier factors that contributed the siege mentality of the department.

But the time has probably come for the Police Department to ease up on the low-level “broken-windows” stuff while re-evaluating the impact it may or may not have on real, serious crime.
And here you bring up an issue that you feel has contributed to policemen’s discontent. This is a substansive course of action to improve the situation as viewed by the policemen. Have you or your union brought this option up to the Police Commissioner or Mayor? Has there been any attempt by either side to address the “siege” mentality, or the effect of the “broken window” policing?
From reading your article, I have gained the impression that there has been long-standing resentment and demoralization in the department, one factor being the “broken window” policing style and these recent protests have been a flash point for the expression of these feelings.
However, both sides have accepted that this division exists and that is the first step. Both sides need to formulate what the problems are. Trust and respect come from working together. Both sides need to put aside the words and come up with actual problems that can be solved. You don’t like someone’s words, find out why he said them.
People can’t solve problems by calling each other names: childish, condescending, sulking, disrespectful. The question is why are they so upset that they will say or do these things. A mayor doesn’t try to antagonize his police department for no reason; a police department doesn't turn their back on their commanders for no reason.
People don’t command respect; they earn it. What have you done to earn other’s respect?

[ecstatic]

39. excellent attempt to reason with someone

who most likely cannot be reasoned with. Despite how gentle you are in your response, I suspect it would only be received as disrespectful/anti-police.

[Downtown Hound]

32. "They were like two shepherds guarding their flock..."

Dear cops:

I was there on the streets of San Francisco watching you violate the civil rights of people protesting an illegal war waged by an illegal administration.

I have watched you act brutally and violently to people protesting the farce that is the financial industry during Occupy Wall Street.

I watched you forcibly evict my fiance from her home when Wells Fargo illegally foreclosed on it.

To sum up, you are not my shepherd, I am not your flock, and I don't need you to protect me. So kindly get the bullshit brainwashing out of your heads. Thank you.

[markpkessinger]

33. The entire "cops protect us" meme is suspect . . .

I mean, sure, on rare occasion, a cop is in a position to stop a crime in progress. Most of the time, they apprehend people after a crime has been committed. Cops and their defenders will argue, of course, that even this ex post facto apprehending of criminal suspects serves to "keep us safe" by getting criminals off the streets. Of course, that may be true in some instances, but whether any particular criminal will go on to commit other crimes probably depends a great deal on both the criminal himself/herself as well as the circumstances surrounding, and the type of, the crime committed. Thus, I think the whole claim that police "keep us safe" is, at best, an overblown and greatly exaggerated claim.

[Cha]

34. Excellent responses. Mark.. and these are just the first two.. We needed this.. thank you.

Bronzi
NJ Yesterday
"Respect is a two way street. I applaud the men and women in uniform and their sacrifices. But to use funerals to aim to embarrass and extort the Mayor, when the focus should be grieving and honoring, seems like a bunch of petulant children, kindergarten ones at that, mad they aren't having it THEIR way.

There needs to be some movement on both sides toward reconciliation, but as long as the police continue to court negative public perception by their behavior, which is fully well known becoming a news story, live with the erosion of respect by the people who are paying your salaries and supposed to be the ones who you are serving and protecting.

If I had children, the back turnings would be a cautionary take to my children of how NOT to act."


Scott Pitz
Pittsburgh Yesterday

"Unfortunately everyone seeks respect. Clearly Eric Garner was seeking respect on the day he died. The current Mayor sought respect and was granted it by the people of New York when he was elected. The police surely are due respect for the difficult and dangerous jobs they do.

In the end, respect must be earned day in and day out. The police union has frittered away respect and trust by turning it's back in the mayor at the most inappropriate of times. The president of the police union has frittered away respect and trust with his hamhanded handling of a delicate situation.

The police in New York unfortunately have sullied their own reputation with their recent actions of disrespect while taking no responsibility for mistakes or poor judgment. It is hard to respect those who admit no mistakes and tolerate no disagreement. It would seem that it is time to revive Mayor Dinkins call for an independent civilian authority to police the police. If the District Attorney will not indict and the police will not tolerate other voices and opinions, a robust check must be instituted on police power.

This is what comes from people who do not hold their own accountable and disrespect those who have the temerity to adjust to the realities of police profiling."

Oh heck, I have to post Jim in Virginia..


jim
virginia Yesterday

"I'm further to the left than your mayor and I was a police officer for 32 years. You continue to politicize this tragedy and that is wrong, The police have varying politics like everyone else - they are "the people'. But in uniform they have no political affiliation. When the cops take sides that is the beginning of tyranny."

So many excellent thoughtful replies.. Thank you!

[foo_bar]

35. is it me, or does "biracial" sound eerily antiquated?

I suppose the implication is that de Blasio's son (or Obama when this moniker is applied) isn't "black enough" to enter the discussion (even tho they're black enough to be harassed/profiled/shot on sight under normal conditions), therefore de Blasio hates cops. It's fucked up on so many levels, like there's some "black privilege" granted by Occidental folk to true-blooded members of the Negroid Race (or whatever 19th century detritus belies "biracial&quot , one-drop rule notwithstanding, and discussing fear of cops without this revocable privilege means they'll really give you something to be afraid of. Sometimes I think America hasn't really changed over the centuries, or it certainly hasn't for black people, except things have different names now like "Voter ID" and "resisting arrest".

[Live and Learn]

37. +1 nt

[ecstatic]

40. good point, considering the context. nt

[Live and Learn]

36. 'Shepherds guarding their sheep'????

They consider us sheep?

[Paulie]

41. Not sheep. Lambs....

You know what happens with lambs...

[wavesofeuphoria]

38. I've heard some interesting citizen proposals

in response to the "work stoppage" ...

Remove some police officers from the force and replace them with social workers and mental healthcare workers!

I like that actually!!