It’s exceedingly rare for NYPD cops to be gunned down in the line of duty, despite NYC having the nation’s largest police force with over 34,000 uniformed officers. These were the first such cop killings in over 3 years.
The nation’s heart goes out to the families of the slain officers. They were our finest; they’re fallen heroes; all of us weep for their loss and honor their sacrifice.
But, unfortunately, some people are exploiting this tragedy for selfish ends with utter lack of class and taste. It isn’t just me who thinks this. The Atlantic magazine has devoted a feature article to it. Here are some excerpts (quoted under fair use):
These murders “are, in fact, being condemned by nearly everyone commenting on the case, which is no surprise: Opposition to the murder of police officers is as close to a consensus belief as exists in American politics, culture and life.” But, “The Sergeants Benevolent Association …would have us think otherwise.
“‘The blood of 2 executed police officers is on the hands of Mayor de Blasio,’ the group declared in a statement that attempted to exploit these murders to advance their political agenda. In a similarly dishonorable statement, the president of the city’s largest police union, Patrick Lynch, blamed Mr. de Blasio for the tragedy. The officers’ blood ‘starts on the steps of City Hall,’ he said, ‘in the office of the mayor.’
“And Howard Safir, a former NYPD commissioner, wrote this in Time: ‘When Ismaaiyl Abdulah Brinsley brutally executed Officers Ramos and Liu he did so in an atmosphere of permissiveness and anti-police rhetoric … from the Mayor of New York City, the Attorney General of the United States, and even the President. It emboldens criminals and sends a message that every encounter a black person has with a police officer is one to be feared.’
“Notably, none of these intellectually dishonest statements quote or link to any actual rhetoric spoken by Mayor de Blasio, Eric Holder, or President Obama. That is because none of them has uttered so much as a single word that even hints that violently attacking a police officer, let alone murdering one, would be justified. Suggesting that their words are responsible for this murder is discrediting. Even the weaker claim that their words ’embolden criminals’ is absurd, both as a matter of logic and as a statement made amid historically low crime rates.
“With regard to … killing police officers, ‘the number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty—that is, killed with felonious intent by a suspected criminal—plummeted to 27 in 2013, its lowest level in decades.’ That is the Obama/Holder record on this issue. We needn’t speculate about whether their rhetoric has proved dangerous for police. We know that it has not.
“And insofar as there is anti-police sentiment in some U.S. subcultures right now, it has little to do with the top-down rhetoric of national political leaders and much to do with grassroots outrage at police killing unarmed people and the proliferation of videos showing police officers abusing their authority, often with impunity. That intense anger over such videos coincides with persistent rarity of politically motivated attacks on cops underscores … that ‘it’s possible to both be appalled by senseless executions of cops and angry at unjustified killings by cops.’ Those positions are not in tension with one another. They are both consistent with the individualist premise that all lives are valuable, as well as the belief that both police and non-police should act lawfully and justly.”
This is too complicated for non-thinkers to understand. And, of course, it won’t be self-evident to people who ignore facts, the way it is to the rest of us. Several police unions have adopted the untenable position that cops can do no wrong and are above reproach, even when they pump a dozen or more bullets into an unarmed mentally ill person, beat up a handcuffed and subdued person with fists and truncheons, and falsify reports and trump up fake charges against innocent citizens. The public does indeed have much to fear from the police. And with police killings of citizens falling like winter rain in Seattle, and no one being held accountable for it, the public can be forgiven for feeling the police are out of control.
Now, cop unions are telling us that if you say that, or participate in a protest against police violence against helpless civilians, you’re a cop killer. That doesn’t fly on any level. It’s vicious, petty, vindictive — and false. It is, as The Atlantic says, intellectually dishonest. Most of all, when union leaders who represent the beat cops who daily patrol our cities and face the dangers of the streets say such things, they’re hurting the very people they claim to speak for. Because this incendiary rhetoric widens the breach between police and citizens they serve, and makes the police appear even more dangerous and less trustworthy.
And what shall we say of the Republican politicians who are trying to turn this tragedy into a partisan weapon against their Democratic opponents? I don’t know where to begin. I guess it doesn’t cost them anything with people who would never vote for them anyway. And it serves a function (for them) as red meat to temporarily sate the drooling hyenas of the far right, upon whom they depend for election pluralities.
I’ve long since given up the dream of having any rational political discourse in this country; America is a hopelessly tribal society. The main problem I have with this is that some of those hyenas are going around in blue uniforms with badges on their chests and loaded guns on their hips. That makes me nervous — and I’m not even black. (I’d be even more nervous if I was.)
We want to love our cops. We want to see them as our protectors, helpers, and friends. We want to respect them for the difficulty of their job. The good cops will understand this, and also will understand that the behavior of bad cops and the antics of those who defend police thuggery is hurtful to all cops by bringing discredit, disrepute, and disrespect upon the entire profession
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