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An NYPD work stoppage?

Published by digby on December 30, 2014

An NYPD work stoppage?

by digby

This is from the New York Post so take it with a grain of salt:

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.

The unprecedented meeting is being held at the new Police Academy in Queens at 2 p.m., sources said.

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.
It has helped contribute to a nose dive in low-level policing, with overall arrests down 66 percent for the week starting Dec. 22 compared with the same period in 2013, stats show.
Citations for traffic violations fell by 94 percent, from 10,069 to 587, during that time frame.
Summonses for low-level offenses like public drinking and urination also plunged 94 percent — from 4,831 to 300.

Even parking violations are way down, dropping by 92 percent, from 14,699 to 1,241.
Drug arrests by cops assigned to the NYPD’s Organized Crime Control Bureau — which are part of the overall number — dropped by 84 percent, from 382 to 63.

The Post obtained the numbers hours after revealing that cops were turning a blind eye to some minor crimes and making arrests only “when they have to” since the execution-style shootings of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.

I’m not sure what they hope to achieve. Their list of grievances seems to be that the mayor hurt their feelings and they don’t get no respect. Their demands are that the mayor should apologise (and perhaps resign) protests against police should be banned and the police department should be permanently shielded from all criticism. I don’t think that’s very realistic.

I continue to be stunned at these police officers’ lack of maturity and professionalism. I understand that they’re upset at both the protests and the shootings of their fellows in NYC and that’s fine. But their antics in the face of criticism proves in living color what we see in so many individual incidents: they don’t just want respect, they want submission. They will brook no discussion and accept no accountability, have no use for psychology or patience because the weapons in their holsters should be sufficient to gain instant compliance.  We cannot call ourselves a free society as long as that is the case.

We’ve allowed police militarization and the “us vs them” attitude that go with that to become the norm without any discussion. The debate over police use of force, whether it be beating with a baton, electo-shock, an illegal choke hold or a hail of bullets is long overdue.

Update: Ta-Nahesi Coates makes a good point:

*There are still a couple more days to contribute to the Holiday Fundraiser : 

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