NYPD Slows Down Law Enforcement, Increases Citizen Complaints
from the six-sigma-black-belting dept
As an autonomous collective, let's try (together!) to do a little NYPD math.
Here's the beginning of the word problem:
How many cops does it take to choke someone to death?
One.
Officer Daniel Pantaleo. Pantaleo choked Eric Garner to death while "effecting an arrest." The presumed crime was unlicensed cigarette sales, but no one really knows for sure why Pantaleo decided to escalate the situation by using a forbidden tactic to subdue the non-resistant Garner. And we'll never know anything else about it because Officer Pantaleo has dodged everything but a firing over his decision to perform an illegal chokehold in the course of detaining Eric Garner to death.
Rather than rally against this illegal use of force, the NYPD union -- headed by awful human being Pat Lynch -- has decided to demonize everyone who isn't a Police Benevolent Association (PBA) member. Citizens who are still alive in the Big Apple don't know how well they have it, being presided over by a bunch of bad apples who labor under the scrutiny of a powerless populace.
"We are urging all New York City police officers to proceed with the utmost caution in this new reality, in which they may be deemed 'reckless' just for doing their job," Patrick Lynch, the longtime president of the Police Benevolent Association, said Monday after veteran Officer Daniel Pantaleo was fired.
"We will uphold our oath, but we cannot and will not do so by needlessly jeopardizing our careers or personal safety," he added.
The NYPD continues to come under fire water. Minor summertime humiliations, coupled with the firing of a bad cop has prompted the NYPD's union head to call for a work slowdown.
Another union joined the PBA in its stupidity. Invoking the nonexistent "Ferguson Effect," the Sergeants Benevolent Association tweeted "PANTALEO EFFECT" because pressing the CAPS LOCK key makes everything true. The threat of cops not doing their jobs doubled as both unions presented a unified front of "not earning paychecks."
Would there be a slowdown? The police commissioner said "no." Because no police commissioner is ever going to say "yes," even if there is a perceivable slowdown.
[Commissioner James] O’Neill said cops are still plugging away.
“It bothers me, but NYPD cops are the best in the country,” O’Neill told ABC 7 on Sunday. “They are going to keep this city safe and they have to, no matter what happens… They are not going to stop doing what they do."
O'Neill has confidence in officers represented by two unions declaring zero confidence. He says his officers are professionals. The stats say otherwise.
Arrests dropped 27% between Aug. 19 — the day Pantaleo was fired — and Aug. 25 compared to the same period in 2018, with police making 3,508 busts compared to 4,827.
The number of criminal summonses issued fell nearly 29% over the same period, going from 1,655 to 1,181, the figures show.
There was no "organized" slowdown… according to NYPD officers. I can believe that. I can also believe dozens of like-minded cops decided to stop working as hard enforcing the law because they've decided to see themselves as victims when one of their own actually gets punished for killing someone. Departments that have managed to turn public opinion against them seem to be filled with officers that think the real problem here is a lack of grateful citizens.
Everyone on the record says nothing has changed. The unions agitating for a slowdown are contradicted (but not very believably) by NYPD officers saying they're still as dedicated to the job as ever.
The numbers don't back up the official statements. NYPD officers are doing less than ever, according to the arrest records cited above. But the strangest thing has happened. First, crime has not increased.
Second, the downturn in enforcement has somehow resulted in an increase in complaints against the police.
Complaints against New York City police officers spiked in 2019, rising nearly 20 percent from last year — and new statistics released by the city suggest that cops and civilians cooperating to resolve those cases are having more trouble doing so.
The number of total complaints filed with the Civilian Complaint Review Board — which handles allegations of discourtesy, offensive language, excessive use of force and abuse of authority by uniformed police officers — rose by nearly 1,000 in fiscal year 2019, from 4,392 complaints last year to 5,236 this year, according to statistics released Tuesday in the annual Mayor’s Management Report.
Do less. Screw up more.
"Doing more with less" is an admirable goal. Unfortunately, coupling fewer enforcement efforts with a higher complaint rate suggests the NYPD is doing less stuff right and more stuff wrong. I understand cops may feel like people are out to get them after they kill a citizen, but actual professionals would would act professionally.
Residents don't want to be paying for increased violations of rights, but that's what the NYPD is providing instead of protection and service. New York's Finest are barely New York's Adequate, if this is how officers are getting work done these days. Any time accountability rears its ugly head, police unions -- and the officers they represent -- are there to punish the public for demanding these professionals act like professionals.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: nypd, police unions, protect and serve, work slowdown
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Maybe a police slowdown will also mean a slowdown in citizens being killed by the cops.
Hope springs eternal.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The number of total complaints filed with the Civilian Complaint Review Board — which handles allegations of discourtesy, offensive language, excessive use of force and abuse of authority by uniformed police officers — rose by nearly 1,000 in fiscal year 2019, from 4,392 complaints last year to 5,236 this year,
Now now, just because they aren't going to put as much work in doesn't mean they won't still enjoy the 'perks' of having a badge, and as the numbers would seem to indicate they really enjoy those perks.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"NYPD cops are the best in the country"
Citation needed, mainly because we know how many terrorism sites they were run out of around the globe b/c they showed up & pretended they were experts.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
I think I saw the arrest on video. His crime I believe was selling cigarettes for .25 cents a piece on the sidewalk.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
He was a big man and he didn't even put up a fight against the murdering cop. Very very sad when America faces this kind of treatment by law whoring enforcement.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Sent to Eternity
From one eternal soul to another, I bet this cop wishes he could have this day back. Maybe some cops could learn from this cop although they are more likely confident with what training has taught them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
This cop was judge, jury and executioner for a really minor infraction. The man was helping some of his friends who could not afford to buy a whole pack of cigarettes. COME ON PEOPLE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
You just don't have the full context of the quote. They're the best in the country - at choking people to death.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
I survived a choking by swat, but not before this dick forced the blood backwards into my brain. Another hit me with the but of his rifle at the same time a third already had me cuffed! I was surrendering on my kitchen floor because my psycho ex girlfriend concocted a lie with her girlfriend who said I pushed her down and injured her leg at fireworks I was not even at all because four days earlier I told her I was leaving her.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Win win
Not really a problem for me.
If the cops feel mistreated they don’t have to worry.
If the people are actually afraid then less cops on the streets to be afraid of.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Good news everyone
There are fewer incidents of police violating rights in NYC currently! They are proving that they are not needed and that their work actually harms more people than it helps. Go for it accountants. Prove the NYPD is its own worst nightmare.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
If THAT is the 'best', then...
“It bothers me, but NYPD cops are the best in the country,” O’Neill told ABC 7 on Sunday.
On the one hand I'd be curious as to what standard and metrics you'd have to use for that to be an accurate statement, yet at the same time I'm not sure if I'd want to see that standard/metrics as it would probably be Cthulhu-levels of madness and twisted thinking, with the only thing more horrifying being the possibility that it was right and what that would mean about all the other cops in the country.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: If THAT is the 'best', then...
"...I'm not sure if I'd want to see that standard/metrics as it would probably be Cthulhu-levels of madness and twisted thinking, with the only thing more horrifying being the possibility that it was right and what that would mean about all the other cops in the country."
More like Stephen King levels, I'd say. In Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos NYPD-style statistics are only found among the inbred cannibal cultists making up the bulk of the antagonists of stories set in rural podunk burghs.
As for the standards applied and metrics used, consider the source. As long as you sweep police infractions under the rug as default what comes out WILL be a rather flatering portrayal of the boys in blue...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Huh
I actually think it's fine as long as the normal incarceration rate doesn't go up during this latest "Whaaa why don't we get complete impunity to kill?" hissy fit.
Are they actually trying to address the issues around the Garner death with better training/community relations program or is it just the hissy fit thing?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
That sounds like a rhetorical question to me
Are they actually trying to address the issues around the Garner death with better training/community relations program or is it just the hissy fit thing?
Well, given the response from the union...
"We are urging all New York City police officers to proceed with the utmost caution in this new reality, in which they may be deemed 'reckless' just for doing their job," Patrick Lynch, the longtime president of the Police Benevolent Association, said Monday after veteran Officer Daniel Pantaleo was fired.
... I'd say it's very clearly the latter, a case of them throwing a fit because one of their buddies actually faced even a sliver of consequences for choking a man to death.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: That sounds like a rhetorical question to me
Fired from north? West Palm Beach is looking for a few good men!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: That sounds like a rhetorical question to me
"utmost caution in this new reality, in which they may be deemed 'reckless' just for doing their job"
Because, apparently, killing innocent people is in their job description.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
?normal incarceration rate?
US has 5% of world population and 20% of world's incarceration. That makes incarceration rate anything but normal. The politicians here are that paranoid.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
The stats say otherwise
Do they though?
No doubt there was a significant change in stats. But we can't rule out other reasons why the arrest number is lower yet. The arrest stats are from 2018 while the complaints are showing an increase in 2019.
I think your theroy for the stats is the most likely scenario but there could be other reasons too.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: The stats say otherwise
I agree. We don't know enough to draw a causal relationship between those 2 events. There could be a perfectly reasonable third variable that explains that data set.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: The stats say otherwise
"We don't know enough to draw a causal relationship between those 2 events."
Sorta like the relationship between Stop 'n Frisk & benefits to society.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Not sure of the correct term for NYPD's behavior is "strategic incompetence" or "malicious compliance."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Maybe my math is off.
The police dept's only job is to raise revenue for the city that contracts them. If the city has to spend more in settlements because of their behavior, why would they think a work slowdown would hurt the city? It seems the city would finally start seeing a net gain by caging all the psychos with a badge.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ferguson effect
I don't know that the Ferguson effect can be dismissed out of hand. There were some studies that showed a correlation in an increase in crime after the events in Ferguson in some major cities. Even the New York Times said "The idea that the police have retreated under siege will not go away. But even if it's true, is it necessarily bad?" Even the NYT is willing to admit it may be true...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Ferguson effect
The other day the NYT admitted that maybe we should get rid of the first amendment. They don't always have credibility on every issue.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Ferguson effect
My point being that even a major media outlet that leans left is unwilling to dismiss the Ferguson effect outright.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Ferguson effect
Even if we take a leave of reason and assume uncritically that the Ferguson effect is true it would still be their own damn fault and more reason to hold them accountable. That would make them liabilities twice over as not only did they cause the unrest but their malingering. Which implies the proper course of action is to purge the old screw ups and replace them with ones who won't cause unrest and then tantrum after facing the consequences of their own actions.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Fire every cop, start over
They need to gut the whole NYPD (regardless of "union rules") and start from scratch. Make EVERY current cop reapply for their old jobs and kick out the ones that fail a personality test or have a history of racism. It wont get any better until this is done.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Fire every cop, start over
Guys serious normally I have problems with how NYPD operates And this place is filled with examples of it but I’m going to say it:
Use of force is not one of them. In fact considering it’s New York I’m surprised it’s that low I have been to small towns with worse. And I’m not some fool who expects zero complaints from something.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Fire every cop, start over
It is not just the officers themselves you have to purge but the union itself and hit them with the book - quite literally some would suggest - for every crime they supported, facilitated or covered up.
If even 0.1% of that goes through, the whole union administration will be filling exclusive blocks at the commercial state prisons for centuries to come. Need to keep those prisons full.
As for the judges who gave them a pass or facilitated their shenanigans, review and thorough investigation, including finances, with the appropriate consequences. There are more than enough lawyers out there salivating for a sweet sweet bench position. Judges, like diapers, need to be checked up on a regular basis, and changed when required, and all for the same reason.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Where's Frank Reagan when you need him?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Next up: firefighters express their unwavering commitment to protect us, but only as long as "their personal safety is never in the slightest jeopardy". Presumably by standing outside the burning building and shouting "this way to the outside!" from a safe distance to courageously aid the egress of anyone still inside.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
I wouldn't even go there bud.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
I will. :P
For full equivalency they would need to be armed with a flamethrower to fight fire with fire to prevent the spread of fire on anyone leaving the building.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]