Sgts union putting city at risk
Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins lashed out at Mayor Bill de Blasio after a gunman shot and wounded
two cops. Photo by Craig Ruttle
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COURIER L 24 IFE, FEBRUARY 14-20, 2020
Park Slope Barber — established in 1903 — closed up shop after
more than a century of trims, marking an end to one of the
neighborhood’s longest continually operated businesses!
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LAST WEEK’S TOP STORY:
Editorial
We echo the pleas of the mayor, the police commissioner
and the head of the police offi cers’
union not to allow an anti-cop mentality to prevail
— that the offi cers deserve our respect for the job
they do.
Meanwhile, the Sergeants’ Benevolent Association
— a union representing NYPD sergeants — sent out
an infl ammatory, threatening tweet Sunday against
Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“Mayor DeBlasio (sic), the members of the NYPD
are declaring war on you,” the SBA tweet read. “You
sold the NYPD to the vile creatures, the 1% who hate
cops but vote for you. NYPD cops have been assassinated
because of you.”
These remarks — ostensibly written by or with
the approval of the union’s president, Ed Mullins —
counteracted the appeals for unity and respect that de
Blasio, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea and Patrolman’s
Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch
made following two assassination attempts of offi cers
in the Bronx.
On Monday, while saluting a lieutenant who was
discharged from Lincoln Hospital after being shot at
the Bronx’s 41st Precinct, Shea rightfully condemned
the “inappropriate” SBA tweet: “This is a time we
need to come together so when you look at this city
and how far we’ve come in the last six years, changing
how we do policing in this city, working closer
with the community — the community is behind the
NYPD.”
Much like the anti-police mentality that they
sought to condemn, the SBA’s deplorable tweet only
serves to infl ame tensions rather than diffuse them.
Declaring war on a mayor and confl ating his support
for police reform with hatred of the NYPD? That’s
exactly the kind of dangerous rhetoric that brought us
to this point in our city’s history — and only works to
undo the strides that the NYPD has made in improving
relationships with the community.
We cannot imagine that the SBA tweet refl ects the
beliefs of its hard-working members. We know that
they know better than that.
The atmosphere of animosity and hostility that
hovers over the city like a fog of fi lth must be cleared
if our city is to come out of this situation stronger and
safer than ever. More anger, more unhinged rhetoric,
more disrespect makes that fog denser — and leaves
us lost within it.
For the love of our city, let reason prevail over
rage.
Park Slope barber shop closes after more
than a century
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