Mayor, NYPD brass split on sudden increase in
shootings across New York City
BY TODD MAISEL
Mayor Bill de Blasio and
NYPD Chief of Department
Terence Monahan
offered two vastly different opinions
Monday for the sudden surge
in street shootings across New
York City culminated by a bloody
Fourth of July weekend.
During the mayor’s July 6 press
conference at City Hall, he and
Monahan had agreed that the city
had been hit by a “perfect storm”
of crime. While de Blasio linked
the spike to issues related to the
COVID-19 pandemic, Monahan
was more strident, blaming bail
reform, the early release of inmates
from Rikers Island, and a
failure of some leaders to support
the police.
The mayor has taken a conciliatory
stand on bail reform;
he has maintained that releasing
prisoners from Rikers Island was
the right thing to do “because we
had a public health crisis.”
De Blasio believes one contributing
factor to the crime rise
are court systems that “are not
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The heads of two NYPD
commands serving Manhattan
seemingly blasted
elected offi cials on Twitter Sunday
after an outburst of gun violence
in the city between July 4-5.
More than 20 shootings across
the city during the period, leaving
four dead and at least 36 people
injured. One of the fatal shootings
happened in Manhattan, where a
young man was shot in the back
at 1111 Amsterdam Ave. early on
July 5. He later died after being
brought by private means to a
local hospital for treatment.
On Sunday afternoon, Assistant
Chief Kathleen O’Reilly,
commander of NYPD Patrol Borough
Manhattan North, purportedly
took to Twitter to not only
condemn the shooting incidents
as “disgusting,” but also to take
local elected offi cials — and even
protesters — to task.
“Disgraceful the amount of
people shot in Manhattan North
in the past 24 hours! Where are
the elected offi cials and violence
working” due to the pandemic.
Because certain functions have
been suspended for public safety,
a number of those arrested for
crime are being released back into
the community.
“The fact that the court system
is not functioning and then
police make arrests and there is
no follow through from courts,
Commissioner Dermot Shea is
working on that to get it up and
running,” de Blasio said.
Mayor de Blasio said Shea is
meeting with district attorney’s
to convince them to prosecute
crimes and stop putting criminals
back on the streets. He said the
commissioner would seek the
reopening of the courts in order
to prevent the immediate release
of those arrested for gun-related
crimes.
The NYPD maintains that
many of those released from
Rikers are now committing new
crimes, and many released under
bail reform are also involved in
the seven major felonies, including
murder.
“A lot of different things are
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
Chief Terrence Monahan took issue with bail reform, RIkers
release and the choke hold bill that makes using a knee to
hold a prisoner a crime.
Chiefs of two Manhattan NYPD bureaus blame
elected officials for outburst of shootings
Tweets by the commanders of Patrol Borough Manhattan
North and Manhattan South posted on July 5, 2020 reacting to
a series of shootings across the city between July 4-5.
interupter!! sic The community
is suffering!!,” according to the
tweet.
That tweet was followed an
hour later by a similar missive
apparently written by Assistant
going on – bail reform, releases
from prison, courts are shut
down, half the population of the
jails are out and the animosity
towards police tremendous,” Monahan
said. “Everyone is trying
to fi ght police offi cers when they
want to make an arrest. We want
to hear support for cops leaders
SCREENSHOTS
Chief Stephen Hughes, who heads
up Patrol Borough Manhattan
South — who focused his ire at
Manhattan District Attorney Cy
Vance Jr.
“Manhattan DA Cy Vance
to speak up for the police who are
out there. Morale is low and the
rhetoric is a small minority.”
Monahan said they are seeking
input from the community as to
what they want offi cers to do for
them.
“Neighborhood policing is
designed to get them on our side,
where are you? No show at any
shooting scene!!! Our community
is being attacked, there have
been 24 people shot in the city
in the past 24 hours….Where
Are You!!,” Manhattan South
tweeted.
NYPD patrol boroughs serve
as supervisory commands for
individual precincts in certain
geographic regions of the city.
The patrol borough commanders,
as well as the commanding
offi cers for individual precincts,
are responsible for the content of
their respective Twitter accounts.
Manhattan South includes the
1st, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 13th
and 17th Precincts, as well as the
Midtown North and Midtown
South Precincts. Manhattan North
covers the Central Park Precinct
as well as the 19th, 20th, 23rd,
24th, 25th, 26th, 28th, 30th,
32nd, 33rd and 34th Precincts.
amNewYork Metro reached out
to ask them what they want from
police and we need to deal with
the community,” Monahan said.
“Our concentration on quality of
life led to reduced crime. We need
to know from the community how
they want their neighborhood
policed.”
Further, Monahan blasted
the City Council for passing the
chokehold laws to include using
a knee to hold down a prisoner
who is resisting. He said cops
“are afraid to make an arrest of
someone resisting.”
Even so, the chief dismissed
speculation that offi cers were
“slowing down.”
“Our guys not slowing down,”
he said. “Investigations take time,
homicide investigations are not
overnight and there are a number
of arrests … and numerous individuals
ready to indict. But we are
waiting for the courts to open.”
Both the mayor and chief said
the key to bringing violence under
control is to bring together community
organizations and reach
those with guns before they use
them.
to the NYPD for confi rmation
if Chiefs O’Reilly and Hughes
themselves had written the aforementioned
tweets. No comment
was received prior to press time.
As for other departmental leaders,
Chief of Detectives Rodney
Harrison had tweeted earlier on
Sunday about the shooting rampage
— though his message was
an appeal for help in catching the
suspects involved.
“The NYPD and the community
need to work together as a
team to help curb the violence.
#helpushelpyoubesafe,” Harrison
wrote.
Police Commissioner Dermot
Shea did not mention the shooting
spree on his Twitter timeline. On
Sunday, he tweeted about attending
a memorial ceremony for slain
Police Offi cer Miosotis Familia in
the Bronx, and a message of support
for the NYPD fl own over the
beaches of Rockaway in Queens.
4 July 9, 2020 Schneps Media