New York City is paying a big, big price for not giving in to “politically correct” pressure over an unpopular grand jury decision not to indict a cop in the death of a perpetrator who was “taken down” while resisting arrest.
The city’s police department so far as paid more than $23 million in overtime to its regular patrol officers to keep them on the street and securing the protesters. It’s the “equivalent of 38,700 tours of duty since Dec. 3,” according to Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.
But this week the NYPD has been forced to pull even its detectives off homicide cases in order to provide adequate security for the swelling protests spreading around the city. In fact, detectives are being pulled off other investigations as well, all to help deal with the ‘endless barrage of anti-cop protests in the city,” law enforcement sources told The New York Post on Monday.
Thousands of marchers closed down intersections, highways and bridges in New York in a rage against police and “the system.” A gang of “protesters” attacked two police officers on the Brooklyn Bridge last weekend when they attempted to prevent a co-protesters from hurling a trash can on to police below from an elevated walkway. On video, some of the protesters were chanting, “What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want it? Now!”
The disturbances began when a grand jury declined to indict a police officer after petty criminal Eric Garner died while resisting arrest in Staten Island. Garner’s last words, “I can’t breathe,” became the mantra for the mobs in New York City, along with the resurrected chant of the 1991 Crown Heights riots, “No justice, no peace.” Since then, there have been endless “Die-In” demonstrations in all kinds of places, marches and yes, “inclusion” in Rev. Al Sharpton’s March for Justice on Washington DC last weekend.
All this in spite of NYPD’s “retraining” program for its force of 35,000, and an apologetic Mayor Bill DeBlasio who waved away the issue of expense for police overtime due to protests.
“Do we tell people they’re not allowed to raise their voices? Do we tell people they’re not allowed to march? This is the result of something organic,” he said.
No one is talking about enforcing the laws broken by the increasing number of protesters who complicate the lives of commuters and shoppers every day.
Nevertheless, the strategy seems to have worked thus far; no major violence has been reported in the city that is home to more residents than there are citizens in the entire State of Israel. The city has been fortunate to have skipped a few other problems as well.
In Ferguson, Missouri, similar protests — for a similar reason — went from a march to flames in the space of one night. TWo incinerated police cars and 24 burned-out commercial properties later, Ferguson showed no signs of slowing down.
“Protesters” were also tweeting boasts of having received guidance on how to deal with tear gas from Palestinian Authority Arabs. In some photos, protesters were demonstrating wearing keffiyahs in the black-and-white colors of the PA’s leading Fatah faction, wrapped as scarves.
The connection between the Palestinian Authority and American civil rights issues was never made clear; what became painfully obvious was the fact that pro-PA demonstrators are still looking for any excuse to hitch a ride on any issue they can find, legitimate or not, to make their point. Even the death of a teen, even a town burning down.
Clearly, New York City’s mayor and police commissioner are both doing their best to make sure it doesn’t happen on their turf. They succeeded, so far.