Monday, December 29, 2014

The Other Blue Nation (Must Read)

How a progressive Democrat suburban NY cop sees it. From Talking Points Memo.   -gwc
The Other Blue Nation (Must Read):
“Whites, Staten Islanders, and Republicans” may be a minority of New Yorkers, but that’s a good description of a large but shrinking bloc of the NYPD. (51% white as of June 2014) A police force that reflects the face of the city it protects can only be a good thing, in my opinion (see Ferguson, for example). But, like the aging white Republicans who rail against what they perceive as an interloper in the White House, some old school cops may fear the loss of their former Boys’ Club and mourn the disappearance of a department that looked like them. The siege mentality that animates the Tea Party national is alive and moving in Law Enforcement, which even under normal circumstances perceives the world as “us against them” - Police Officers, while in the Academy, are often advised that they will lose some friends, and find that their circle of friends will be more and more made up of others in the field. I came across this posting tonight, purportedly from an NYPD officer, and though I cannot vouch for its source, I have to say that every sentiment expressed rings true to me, although I don’t share them. It is worth a read. The closing of ranks when the Brotherhood is threatened is palpable.
I’ve been accused of being racist by African-American civilians just because of the color of my uniform. In one instance by an African-American ex-NYPD officer at a domestic incident. He spent 15 minutes interrupting me and claiming I was "only treating him that way" because he was black, while in reality I was treating him as I would any other person, based on his actions. I have close friends on the force, white, who are in interracial marriages, and on more than one occasion where they are accused of racism will pull out their wallet and show the accuser a picture of their wife and children. Are there cops with racist views? Of course. Do cops go out intending to kill people? No. They go out on patrol intending to come home to their families. I read recently that there are about 25 million interactions each year between the police and citizens in New York City. Statistically, bad things will happen. We can do our best to train and equip and sensitize officers to the community, but they are human, and not infallible. Nobody wants a bad actor in the ranks, it makes everyone’s job harder. We’re happy to see them go when they are found out.
Sharpton is anathema to the NYPD since the 1987 Tawana Brawley debacle and his habit of showing in front of cop’s suburban residences in protest after they were involved in shootings, even before his recent rhetoric. De Blasio’s close association with Sharpton during his campaign and subsequently sets a very bad precedent for his relations with the police. Sharpton is absolute poison to cops. A cop who was assigned to the detail at the 1991 rally where Sharpton was stabbed in assassination attempt, and had a hand in saving his life, told me it counts it as one of the mistakes of his career. That’s the feeling, and de Blasio’s association with Sharpton, while perhaps wise in the broader political sense, does him no good with the rank and file of the police department.
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