I strongly implore those concerned with NYPD officers' hateful statements on Facebook to look beyond the worst of them and read them in their entirety.
They called people “animals” and “savages.” One comment said, “Drop a bomb and wipe them all out.”
The comments provoked a public outcry, with various elected city officials decrying the officers' behavior and demanding discipline. That pressure seems to have had its intended effect. The police department will investigate the officers for using what commissioner Kelly termed "hate speech."
It's worthwhile to look back in light of these officers' comments on the actual events of the parade on that day in September. Bear in mind that the parade has a history of erupting into bouts of gunfire. On the day of the most recent parade, the one at the heart of the subject, four people were shot and wounded along the parade route - before the parade began - and a 15-year-old boy was grazed by a bullet nearby. On top of Monday's early-morning violence, it had already been a bloody long weekend: nine people were shot on Friday, 10 on Saturday, and 33 on Sunday.
The greatest police-related activities of the day concerned a wild shootout in which three people were killed and two officers injured by gunfire, and the seemingly unnecessary arrest of a city council member. Both actions were subsequently investigated. The officers who needlessly arrested the councilman were disciplined.
Some may attempt to make a connection between the offensive comments and these two events. The arrest of City Councilman Jumaane Williams, who is black, could be further colored by officers' arguably racist comments; the shooting - which included a barrage of 73 police bullets that may have killed a bystander - seen as evidence of officers' trigger-happiness in certain neighborhoods.
Scott Greenfield asserts that the Facebook comments reveal the world through cop-goggles:
cops see everyone who doesn't have a shield differently. We, the shieldless, are the "them" to their "us." Their eyes see suspicion everywhere. Their eyes see all the bad, whether real or imagined."
Greenfield may be right about how police view the public. I'm not convinced. I note that the creator of the Facebook group tried at one point to moderate the discussion:
PLEASE KEEP IT FOCUSED. This is not a racist rant. This is about us, the cops. This is here for us. Hopefully, a big stretch here, our voices will be heard.
On the strength of this plea, it's worth giving the moderator a chance.
Read together, the comments, in fact, display a cacophonous congress of the fundamental questions of law enforcement policy and public safety.
Do neighborhood conditions drive crime, or does criminal activity drive down a neighborhood? What impact does the setting have on human behavior?
We were told that the possession of marijuana was allowed at the WIDP. No arrests were to be made even if they are smoking in front of you. I don't think the parade should be outlawed, it needs to be moved to Fifth Avenue. Now you will see changes.
Why doesn't anyone address the fact that there is no real violence at the St. Patrick's Parade, the Columbus Day Parade, the Greek Parade, etc.
This parade needs to be moved either in location or time of year, I suggest late January.
move it to Boro Park.
those who work in Manhattan South, Staten Island, and cushy Queens Houses need to appreciate where they work!!! it's ghetto training.
When an average of two to five murders occur every year and the mayor continues to allow this parade to continue... then the mayor is saying he is ok with the bloodshed because it's not Manhattan.
those who work in Brooklyn (some not all) seem to think they have an S on their chest. We all do the same job no matter where you work!
There's the question of lessons learned, and tactics, and support:
What's it going to take for the mayor to shut this down?? Obviously murdered civilians and MOS [members of the service, cops] being shot isn't enough!! I almost got trampled by hundreds of people rushing the barricade from gunshots I couldn't hear less than half a block away.
"Don't worry it's recreation gunfire", as told us by a D.I. [deputy inspector]
It's the gun companies' fault
How many times does a cop have to get hurt at this parade before the city stops giving them permits?
The PBA [police union] should file suit against the city for knowingly allowing a dangerous condition to endanger the safety of their members and city residents.
Why doesn't the NYPD brass utilize crowd control techniques like they do at Times Square on New Year's? It know it won't stop the guns but it can control the crowds.
There are not enough cops for the parade, there are not enough cops for everyday patrol.
What leaps out at me from the the officers' comments is the disorganized, impulsive outrage from what is often perceived as an organized professional force. The truth is that when it comes to crime and public safety, police officers may not have any better ideas than we do. There are no expert police tactics for endemic issues, and no satisfying answers - just a multitude of suggestions - for fundamental questions about society and safety.
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