Mayor Bill de Blasio threatened?
Condolences must be given to the families of the police officers who were murdered in New York City last week. No one wants to harm police officers. No one wants to be harmed by police officers. The incident is unrelated to those who are rightfully protesting police brutality.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio must not succumb to the bullying of the police unions. Specifically, he must not yield to the thuggish tactics of Patrolman’s Benevolent Association head Patrick Lynch.
“There is blood on many hands tonight,” Patrick Lynch said. “Those that incited violence on the street under the guise of protest, that tried to tear down what New York City police officers did every day. We tried to warn it must not go on, it shouldn’t be tolerated. That blood on the hand starts on the steps of city hall in the office of the mayor. This was a cold blooded assassination like we haven’t seen before. So as I said we will straighten our shoulders. We will stiffen our backs. And we will wipe our tears. But when these funerals are over, we will raise our heads. And those that allowed this to go on, will be held accountable.”
The above is a threat. The above is a declaration of a belief of an omnipotent police force. Patrick Lynch speaks as if he is a crime boss.
The mayor is the elected leader of the great city of New York. He is the head executive of the city. He was elected to run all departments including the police department.
It is a fact that a segment of his city has been abused by many rogue officers. It is a fact that the Stop and Frisk policies have unjustly targeted innocent minority citizens of New York. It is a fact that police kill minorities at much higher rates than whites. Recent events provide visual empirical evidence.
New York Police unions are upset that Mayor Bill de Blasio had spoken a truth, a truth many prefer not to hear. The importance of having a Bill de Blasio at this time is more important than ever. He is a White man living the reality of having a Black son with experiences every Black man has experienced at some time when confronting a police officer.
The Mayor better than anyone else must be that bridge that becomes the empathy generating catalyst. Many who cannot easily see the indignities many are subjected to by the police may do so more easily through the expressed lived experiences this Mayor and father must.
Most importantly the Mayor must assert his command over the police. The police is not an insular entity. It’s not a government within itself. It works for the people of New York City and not for some police club.