Seems targeting cops is all the rave among anarchists who are in love with lawlessness. My prior article covered the shooting/killing of Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Joseph Bullock who was slain on the shoulder of Interstate 95 in Martin County on February 5, 2020. He died offering help.
As I was writing the aforementioned piece on February 8, another state trooper, this one in Tennessee, was conducting a traffic stop and fired upon by someone in a passing car. Fortunately, the bullet(s) missed that law enforcement officer, allowing him to get to his police cruiser and chase his assailants. Other state and local cops were alerted, joined the effort, and ultimately apprehended two occupants –a male and a female– along with a firearm. I wonder what their monstrous motivation stems from.
While lacing these words together, two separate ambushes of police officers (only hours apart) were being investigated by the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
On February 8, two NYPD cops were sitting in their fully-marked police crime scene unit van in the Bronx when a male walked up and tapped on the driver’s window. After the window rolled down, the man pulled a firearm from his pocket and squeezed the trigger, striking one policeman in the neck and chin. Quoting NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea, a Fox News report indicated, “A man approached the uniformed officers’ van just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday and asked for directions when he brandished a gun ‘without provocation.’ Neither officer returned fire.” Not for lack of desire to return fire but to distance themselves from the imminent threat and get medical help. With a bullet in his neck, the shot policeman yelled “Gun!” (exactly as training stipulates) and had the wherewithal to drive himself to a nearby hospital while his partner radioed the shooting to other NYPD cops. The cavalry flooded the area, to no avail. The armed suspect faded into the night.
According to an NYPD press release, one bullet narrowly missed the officer’s carotid artery, the other lodged in his chin. Why were they parked at that particular location? According to Police Commissioner Shea, “The officers had been stationed in the neighborhood because of recent drug activity and violence.”
Hours later, a male walked into the same area’s station house (Precinct 41) and opened fire, striking a police lieutenant who was behind the reception desk. He too survived. (That tall man hugging him before he sat in an awaiting NYPD unmarked car is Police Commissioner Shea, not Mayor Bill de Blasio.)
The armed phantom who shot a NYPD cop earlier and faded into the darkness reappeared at daybreak, brazenly walking into the 41st Precinct, emptying his firearm until swarmed by a sea of blue. A glimpse into the pandemonium stemming from the 41st Precinct ambush shooting can be heard here, announcing “the lieutenant is hit!”
These latest ambushes on the NYPD are believed to have been perpetrated by the same suspect. He ran out of bullets, splayed on the Precinct floor like the letter X, and was taken into custody. Let’s see if this, too, somehow meets the criteria of NYC government’s (Mayor Bill de Blasio) newest bail reform measures permitting violent monsters to walk free until (ahem) they reappear for a court date. Easy peasy, right? Lord knows how these malcontents feel about law-abiding concepts.
What we are seeing is nothing short of violence stemming from anti-police rhetoric fueled by elected officials who think they know better and write laws benefitting the monsters instead of citizens and their protectors.
The first of these two assassination attempts on NYPD cops is eerily reminiscent of one which occurred in July 2017, when a male walked up to a parked NYPD van occupied by two NYPD cops. The suspect walked up to the window where police Officer Miosotis Familia sat next to her partner. She was writing notes at that moment. Unprovoked, the shooter squeezed his trigger and unloosed a bullet to her head, assassinating Officer Familia where she sat in the large mobile command post vehicle. Mind you, this was before any of the new bail reform laws took effect; even then, the anti-cop climate festered. Officer Familia’s murderer, Alexander Bonds, had a prior record of assaulting cops and weapons charges; he was out walking freely, enabled by a system pretty good at coddling.
This is the kind of hornets nest which elected officials are permitting to hang over citizens while also endangering cops, essentially telegraphing that it is okay to act like a vicious animal: the zookeeper can’t cage you, we’ll set you free. Zero consequences embolden illicit-minded whacks and influences crimes against justice. Impunity is the growing rave, and its gargantuan bloat is disgusting.
Indeed, it is a brazen, illogical, and irrational legislative body which brews such a scourge, stirs it until it’s just right (in their minds only), and pours it out onto the streets. Unleashing criminals begets crime, pure and simple. Social science theories have this one right. Going soft on crime hardens criminals, and Mayor de Blasio calls his reform plan “a smart policy.” For whom? How is that possible?
On the heels of these latest ambushes, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo offered a tweet, a voice too late, saying, “Horrified by the multiple attacks on @NYPD officers in the Bronx. NY’s law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. These attacks are heinous. Those responsible will be brought to justice & held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.” Kinda bizarre to threaten the “fullest extent of the law” when that nowadays amounts to a lollipop, a free cell phone, and a gift card. This is as disingenuous and insincere as it gets, folks.
The governor’s cohort, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio —who together are non-affectionately called “partners in crime” by my NYPD friends— chimed in similarly, saying, “This vicious assassination attempt is the second one we’ve seen in 24 hours – and an attack on our NYPD officers is an attack on ALL New Yorkers. This despicable hatred is an attempt to divide our city and undermine our safety. We cannot and will not let that happen.” Well, someone needs to inform him he is too late…and that he is largely responsible. He has had his hands of the joysticks controlling division and is the catalyst behind the bail reforms which undermine the NYPD force and the eight-million-plus law-abiding citizens they serve.
An online friend of mine, Suffern, New York police Chief Clarke Osborn posted the following on his social media page: “…if you don’t think our extreme liberal policies such as bail reform don’t affect us, think again, criminals are emboldened by the lack of support many elected officials give to police officers! #stopthemadness.” For NYC’s elected officials perpetuating these perilous bail reforms, true leadership and authentic support of NYPD cops was exemplified when the cop shot in the neck and chin was discharged from the hospital.
Get well, NYPD Officer Paul Stroffolino. The Police Benevolent Association, LE brothers/sisters, and citizens have your back. Speaking of having our cops’ backs…
Commander-in-chief Donald J. Trump recognized the mobocracy and concisely poked at the stupid reform measures which opened the cells and spewed anarchistic, violent malcontents, saying, “I grew up in New York City and, over many years, got to watch how great NYC’s ‘FINEST’ are. Now, because of weak leadership at Governor & Mayor, stand away (water thrown at them) regulations, and lack of support, our wonderful NYC police are under assault. Stop this now!” Here, here, Mr. President! Blue needs you!
As I anticipate attending the funeral services for FHP Trooper Joseph Bullock on February 13, being among a sea of badges in his honor, I sit here and write about the latest ambushes of police officials, hoping for that proverbial dry spell—better yet, waking up from a nightmare. But I know that will not necessarily happen overnight; it will certainly take time, perhaps the time leading up to elections…when voters check boxes indicating they’ve had enough of the liberal lunacy and want to replace anarchy-influencing politicians with ones who embrace law and order.
The NYPD Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) posted the following on their website: “Police are being targeted. Nothing any politician says changes this plain and obvious truth—police are being targeted for violence. The anti-cop tone infecting our city and state is causing bloodshed. Before any public official sends their thoughts and prayers, they should ask themselves how the language and behavior they’ve been tolerating has contributed to violence against police.”
As NYC Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch exclaimed after this latest rash of assassination attempts, “We have people getting let out on parole who have shot at police officers before. What do we think—they’re going to get a different job? We have to bring common sense into the equation, otherwise the slide is going to continue.” Mr. Lynch is referring to matters occurring in NYC and the leaders who propagate anti-police sentiments. Yet he may as well be speaking for other police jurisdictions across the nation, many which are encountering the same perils based on respective political ideologies which do little for law enforcement and citizens’ rights to a safe enclave, as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
Whether the pendulum is about to swing the other way remains to be seen.
One thing is clear, though: the war against cops is ignited…and some wayward “leaders” sparked the conflagration. As NYPD Police Commissioner Shea underscored during a recent press conference, “Words matter—and words affect people’s actions.” There is zero ambiguity that he was directing his message to the political ilk, one of whom was standing right behind the commish’s left shoulder…bobbing his head with feigned innocence.
Advocating against New York’s reform laws, Suffern, New York police Chief Clarke Osborn created “Amend New York State Criminal Justice Reform,” a page chronicling the disastrous results thus far, to include how said reforms are counterintuitive and entirely counterproductive with regard to law enforcement.
Incidentally, the 1981 movie “Fort Apache, The Bronx” starred Paul Newman as a beat cop and depicted police culture in the 41st Precinct many years ago, back then a police district its real-life staff likened to “a wild west isolated outpost” which was “surrounded by hostiles.” Through the years, NYPD warriors battled hostilities and made life better in the 41st. Shame if politicians regress to yesteryears.