Before Eric Garner died in a physical confrontation with New York City police, the tension between the NYPD and Mayor Bill de Blasio was thicker than thick. Police felt that de Blasio was no fan of theirs, but someone who thought they had to be reined in – someone who saw them as guilty until proved innocent.
These tensions soared after the Garner death. Police saw de Blasio as making it clear, if not in so many words, that he blamed the police for what happened to Garner and opposed the grand jury decision not to issue indictments – while having little to say about threats to kill cops, or the inflammatory rhetoric from race hustlers like al sharpton. But he did manage to also make it clear that he was in sympathy with the protesters – which, of course, included the ones who blocked streets, and chanted threatening slogans, including “What do we want? Dead cops” (this is not to say that de Blasio wanted dead cops, but where was his strong condemnation of such threats?)
Well, now two officers are dead: not because they were doing anything to any citizen, Black or non-Black, but because they existed. The two were shot to death in cold blood while sitting in their car by a “man” who, just previously, had posted messages on social media telling the world he was going to find cops to kill because of Garner and Michael Brown.
How bad are the relations between de Blasio and police now? Watch this video, of de Blasio walking into a press conference about the killings and see for yourself.
Notice anything about the police in attendance? Like which direction they were facing as de Blasio walked by?
There are at least three more years to this mayoralty. Things had damn well better change, and fast. Or New York is in for one ugly ride.
