New York City cops took umbrage with comments made by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill that were critical of Attorney General Jeff Sessions for demanding the city comply with federal immigration law.
NYPD active and retired law enforcement officers reacted to the statement sent out by the Justice Department as well as the reaction to it from the mayor and police commissioner.
Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner O’Neill both lashed out at Sessions when the Justice Department sent out letters to nine cites warning officials their defiance to federal immigration law will cost the city federal grants.
The Justice Department said in the statement, “The letters remind the recipient jurisdictions that, as a condition for receiving certain financial year 2016 funding from the Department of Justice, each of these jurisdictions agreed to provide documentation and an opinion from legal counsel validating that they are in compliance with Section 1373.”
The DOJ statement went on to say, “The number of murders in Chicago has skyrocketed, rising more than 50 percent from the 2015 levels. New York City continues to see gang murder after gang murder, the predictable consequence of the city’s ‘soft on crime’ stance.”
According to statements by retired and active NYPD law enforcement given to The Daily Caller, officers are fed up with the mayor’s approach to rejecting compliance with federal illegal immigration law.
“As a cop that wouldn’t insult me. The AG is correct. It is the administration—not the cops,” one source said.
Another officer said, “The NYPD cops aren’t the problem. It’s the management that is!”
Ed Mullins, president of the NYPD’s Sergeants Benevolent Association, blasted Mayor de Blasio and NYPD leadership for defying immigration law saying that Sessions was “right” to hold the city accountable for not following the law. (RELATED: NYC Police Union Chief Slams De Blasio And NYPD Leadership: AG Sessions Is Right)
“Now the City’s intransigence has placed in jeopardy millions in U.S. Department of Justice grant funds that we count on to help protect our communities,” Mullins said.
Despite Mullins statement, Mayor de Blasio made himself appear as a defender of the NYPD in reaction to the remarks by Sessions in the Justice Department statement.
“It’s an unacceptable statement that denigrates the people of New York City and the men and women of the NYPD. It is an outrageous statement and it’s absurd on its face. It ignores a quarter century of progress in this city bringing down crime,” de Blasio told reporters Friday night, with Commissioner O’Neill at his side.
Today’s @TheJusticeDept statement is unbelievably disrespectful to the hardworking #NYPD cops who fight crime and keep people safe everyday. pic.twitter.com/5F9EfvddgF
— Commissioner O’Neill (@NYPDONeill) April 21, 2017
“F*** O’Neill. NYC is soft on crime—sanctuary city equals soft on crime. Being in the city illegally is a crime… Hell, the president of the SBA agrees,” one law enforcement source responded.
Another stated, “This thug-loving, cop-hating mayor has got to go—along with the thug-loving, cop-hating governor. I’d love to see Jeff Sessions indict both of them for obstruction of justice, since they won’t enforce immigration laws.”
One retired NYPD officer said, “Once again the cops are the pawns in the game called politics. How about they address the revolving door justice system instead!” (RELATED: NYC And Feds Continue Battle Over Sanctuary City Status)
Another officer blamed de Blasio for the condition of Penn Station. “All you have to do is get off the train at Penn Station, and you can see how soft law enforcement is on crime because of that jackass.”
One NYPD cop commented that the low crime rate the mayor touted is a result of the administration “making many crimes into non crimes.”
The officer added, “De Blasio is soft on crime… WE the police are not but it seems every week his administration comes out with something that helps the bad guys and not the good ones.”
Another retired law enforcement officer agreed, saying, “Pretty funny how de Blasio spent years writing off homicides as ‘gang/crew problems’ and now chafes when the Attorney General paraphrases his own description.”
The retired officer went on to criticize the mayor: “And the preposterous hyperbole about looking police officers in the eyes and telling them they are soft on crime is just that; preposterous hyperbole. Nobody called cops soft on crime. They called the City and NYPD leadership soft on crime because of their narrow minded and ill-advised declaration that NYC is now a sanctuary for those who willingly refuse to obey the law.”
Former NYPD Commissioner Bernard Kerik stood by AG Sessions Saturday night telling The Daily Caller, “The Attorney General has every right to hold back federal funds if the mayor himself is violating federal law and interfering or obstructing The federal government in enforcing immigration law.”
Kerik went on to say, “The men and women of the NYPD have much to be proud of, with the most dramatic crime reduction’s in the US over the past 22 years, but that was far from mayor the Blasio’s leadership as he wants people to believe.”
He added, “His soft on crime policies, are responsible for an 18% increase in violence in the cities drills most of which is getting driven, as well as his failure to enforce federal immigration laws, that as mayor he has sworn to uphold.”
