Police officers in at least two counties so far have been warned by their top brass to stay out of the Big Apple as a result of the new police reforms that New York’s Finest are now forced to contend with.
Cops in Nassau County were ordered this weekend to stay out of New York City unless they have received specific, prior approval from a supervisor – or better, are accompanied by a supervisor – effective immediately.
The memo was issued Friday from the very top level of the Nassau County police, who cited the new law passed by the New York City Council last week nixing “unlawful methods of restraint” and other major police reforms, according to a report published Saturday in the New York Post.
The memo warned its officers, “In light of the above law, members shall not conduct police business in New York City unless it has been approved by their Commanding Officer,” adding cops must now be accompanied by a supervisor, notify the local precinct of their activities “unless doing so would cause danger” to the officers and emphasizes the officers “should have clearly identifiable police insignia when taking police action” – the latter in compliance with one of the new police reform laws.
Westchester County’s Police Department went further, banning its cops altogether from entering the Big Apple, saying the new police reform legislation makes it too easy for officers to become targets.
The internal memo, disseminated to the Westchester force Thursday and obtained by the New York Post said, “this order is intended to protect sworn members from criminal prosecution for actions consistent with their training and department policy.
“Effective immediately and until further notice sworn members shall not conduct any enforcement activity within the confines of the City of New York. This includes pursuing subjects into the City of New York,” the memo said. “This includes pursuing subjects into the City of New York for offenses committed in Westchester County.”
Both Nassau and Westchester County Police Departments have revised their use of force policies.
Nassau bars chokeholds except when ‘deadly physical force is being asserted against a member of the department of another.’
“It greatly disturbs me that the safety of officers and prisoners are not taken into account when laws are changed and the experts in law enforcement are not consulted,” Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun told the New York Post.
Westchester has banned chokeholds altogether but does not prohibit the use of other forms of restraint when facing deadly physical force from a criminal.
Last week the New York State Police union demanded that all members of its force be pulled out of New York City’s five boroughs as long as the new legislation remains in place.
New York State Troopers’ Union Demands All Uniformed Personnel Be Removed from New York City
“These techniques are commonly used by many law enforcement agencies statewide and nationwide when officers are faced with violently combative subjects,” the union said.
“I find it very troubling that these acts are now defined as criminal in nature, even if they were unintentional and no injury was sustained by the subject,” the statement from the state troopers said.
The reforms came as a result of pressure generated by the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement together with George Floyd rioters following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer during an arrest this past May. Nationwide protests that morphed into worldwide protests and in many cases violence followed; civil rights actions were generated but so too were instances in which the baby was thrown out with the bathwater as well — as in calls to “defund the police” that ended with “abolish the police.”
In the case of New York City, the pressure from the so-called “civil rights activists” and the calls to “defund the police” ended with the police department’s budget slashed by $1 billion that has led to cuts the city can ill afford, in addition to a vote by the New York City Council to approve six police reforms, none of which were written with the input of any security expert.