New York Post – by Larry Celona, Shawn Cohen and Bruce Golding
It’s not a slowdown — it’s a virtual work stoppage.
NYPD traffic tickets and summonses for minor offenses have dropped off by a staggering 94 percent following the execution of two cops — as officers feel betrayed by the mayor and fear for their safety, The Post has learned.
The dramatic drop comes as Police Commissioner Bill Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio plan to hold an emergency summit on Tuesday with the heads of the five police unions to try to close the widening rift between cops and the administration.
The unprecedented meeting is being held at the new Police Academy in Queens at 2 p.m., sources said.
Angry union leaders have ordered drastic measures for their members since the Dec. 20 assassination of two NYPD cops in a patrol car, including that two units respond to every call.
It has helped contribute to a nose dive in low-level policing, with overall arrests down 66 percent for the week starting Dec. 22 compared with the same period in 2013, stats show.
Citations for traffic violations fell by 94 percent, from 10,069 to 587, during that time frame.
Summonses for low-level offenses like public drinking and urination also plunged 94 percent — from 4,831 to 300.
Even parking violations are way down, dropping by 92 percent, from 14,699 to 1,241.
Drug arrests by cops assigned to the NYPD’s Organized Crime Control Bureau — which are part of the overall number — dropped by 84 percent, from 382 to 63.
The Post obtained the numbers hours after revealing that cops were turning a blind eye to some minor crimes and making arrests only “when they have to” since the execution-style shootings of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.
“The call last week from the PBA is what started it, but this has been simmering for a long time,” one source said.Police sources said Monday that safety concerns were the main reason for the dropoff in police activity, but added that some cops were mounting an undeclared slowdown in protest of de Blasio’s response to the non-indictment in the police chokehold death of Eric Garner.
“This is not a slowdown for slowdown’s sake. Cops are concerned, after the reaction from City Hall on the Garner case, about de Blasio not backing them.”
The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association has warned its members to put their safety first and not make arrests “unless absolutely necessary.”
Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins told The Post he’s glad de Blasio is meeting with the unions, but worries that it’s just a publicity stunt.
“I’m disappointed in the issuance of a press release announcing the meeting, which now raises concerns of sincerity,” he said.
“Is this about politics or is it about working through problems?”
Additional reporting by Yoav Gonen
http://nypost.com/2014/12/29/arrests-plummet-following-execution-of-two-cops/
The Mayor and Police Commisioner are meeting with the “heads of the 5 families…oops, I mean Police Unions”. Sorry. Godfather flashback.
I think this slowdown is positive step.
At least they won’t kill anybody for minor offenses.
And this shows that more than 1/2 the force can be laid off.
My thoughts exactly! This will turn out to be like another government shutdown. Instead of them thinking people will complain, I’m more inclined to believe the people will be more than happy unless the cops try and start something to get the people to think that they actually need them such as a series of false flags.
union
an organized association of workers formed to protect and further their rights and interests; a labor union.
five “unions”? sounds more like a dis-union to me. Or there would be 1 union.
LMAO Captain! I was thinking the same thing. They sounds and behave more like crime families.Poor wittle gang members are afwaid for their lives… Maybe they should have thought about that before they started murdering their employers.
Very bad for the American police this is. People get a small taste of freedom, and feel safe on the streets from police assult. They will demand more freedom from them. The longer the police keep there activities up the harder it will be for them to regain there rule by fear tactics.
Don’t bet on it, James.
They’ll simply redouble their efforts once given the green light.
As I was trying to say above, this shows that the police NOT enforcing BS laws with lethal force is a positive for all of us.
Fire ~50% of the NYPD and only enforce the laws against real crimes (no parking tickets, no pissing in the alley takedowns, no loose cigarette sales fatal encounters, etc.). No f**king “Blue Bloods” PsyOp targeting the senior citizens.
Why do my parents fall for that sewer feces TV show?
This is a win-win, except for the fired cops from the 5 families…er…unions.
“… the harder it will be for them to regain there rule by fear tactics.”
I was referring strictly to this portion of his comment.