Sarah Kirk: Respect for NYPD Squandered in Attacks on Bill de Blasio

Sarah Kirk, 5B, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/30/opinion/police-respect-squandered-in-attacks-on-de-blasio.html?_r=0

I covered an editorial by the New York Times Editorial Board on the behavior of NYPD officers towards Mayor Bill de Blasio. It addresses the action taken by officers at the funeral of Officer Rafael Ramos where many turned their backs on the mayor as he spoke. This followed another incident where officers turned their back on de Blasio and become a fairly common way for officers to express their disapproval of the mayor because have remarks he made in the wake of a grand jury refuses to indict the officer who administered a chokehold to Eric Garner and rising tensions between police and the public following protests sparked by the Garner case in New York and the Brown case in Ferguson. They believe de Blasio was provoking tension by not explicitly supporting the NYPD and ultimately this led to the shooting of Officer Ramos and his partner Officer Liu.

The central claim made by the board was that while the officers had the right to be frustrated with the “thanklessness of being a cop”, the disrespect of this action was inexcusable as it was essentially saying they did not approve of the mayor, and therefore the 73% of constituents who elected him. The mayor had only been calling for a review of actions such as these to improve relations with the public, but the Editorial Board argued that anger at this implies that police believe that they are above the law and above review, in addition to the inappropriateness of politicizing an event to honor a fallen colleague. The board also argues that accusing Mayor de Blasio of being “anti-police” is absurd when you look to his support of broken window policing and in increase in funds to the NYPD to modernize the protection of officers. Another this de Blasio was attacks for was when he mentioned that he told he biracial son if he ever came into conflict with police officers to be respectful and comply because he would have to be more cautious due to his appearance.The board argues that there is nothing offensive about this statement.

I do agree that the timing of the actions was inappropriate, and, that while police concerns are valid, Mayor de Blasio is in the right in his criticism of the relationship fostered between the police and the public. Although it is a sensitive topic which generates strong feelings on both sides, it needs to be addressed as shown by the unrest across the nation following Ferguson and the Garner case.