New York Mayor Bill de Blasio this Weeks Media Scapegoat

Much is being made of the booing that New York Mayor Bill de Blasio received while giving a speech at the Department’s graduation but I think more investigative reporting is needed to truly understand why.  Not sure if it will ever happen with today’s media because we all know that only sex and controversy sells and nothing is more important than keeping opposing views at each other’s throats instead of the table to solve these problems.  Articles like the one titled “De Blasio booed before vowing to protect police” as written by Jane C. Timm proves that.  It reports that “Mayor Bill de Blasio was booed just moments before vowing to protect police officers at the New York Police Department graduation on Monday, two weeks after the execution-style killing of two NYPD officers.  “On this day that we want to focus on your great achievement. A day that so many of you have looked forward to — I’m sure it is a day you simultaneously feel some apprehension and your families do as well,” the mayor said, before acknowledging the need to protect the officers.  “We ask you to selflessly protect others, but it’s our job to protect you,” de Blasio said. He added that the city would provide training, resources, and funding for the 894 new officers who graduated on Monday so they could do their jobs safely and well”.  “While he was met with some and jeers at Monday’s event, the graduates did not turn their backs on de Blasio, as some officers have done in recent weeks. The gesture of disrespect is meant to signal criticism of the mayor for the deaths of NYPD Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos. The unprovoked killing led some police organizations to sharply criticize the mayor for not defending the officers in light of anti-police sentiment throughout the nation. One police union head alleged that de Blasio had “blood on [his] hands” because he spoke about the divide between minorities and law enforcement, and because the mayor specifically said in the past that he advised his black son to use caution when interacting with police. The mayor was also booed — with some cheers interspersed — when he told the officers, “You didn’t create these problems, but you can help our city to overcome them. You can be part of the solution.”

Nowhere in the article was it mentioned that distance between police unions and city officials were not uncommon nor was there a mention of police unions needing to find someone to blame for their inaction of keeping the departments that elite group of citizens it was once thought to be.  They have failed to insure that their officers receive the most complete and up-to-date training and equipment to better their chances of coming home at the end of a shift.  They failed to keep a tight rein on those “loose cannons” wearing those uniforms and even can be seen aiding them in their quest to be judge, jury and executioner.  They failed to keep separate politics and protection to the point now where the head of these organizations make salary that may rival some of the Forbes 50 corporations.  It’s now a job to get not to help but to keep because it is quite lucrative with benefits over and above those that they already receive.  Just do enough to keep your chair and you will be able to whistle all the way to the bank. 

There were 894 new officers added to the roles of the NYPD today and 894 more lives placed in the hands of those at the head of that union.  How many will become a real concern to keep them safe or just another payroll deduction of dues?  Surely if the union were to step up and remove those officers giving all of my fellow brothers and sisters black eyes, they could easily be replaced by another 894 who takes pride in their city, in their country and in their uniform.