Elevated tensions between the NYPD and the mayor — high in the weeks after the protests for Eric Garner began — have skyrocketed after a mentally ill man ambushed and killed two officers on December 20. While police remain on high alert in the city, reports by the New York Post and the New York Daily News indicate that police activity has slowed dramatically due to concerns over safety and frustrations with Mayor de Blasio. Union leaders have also urged NYPD to patrol two-to-a-car, with two cars responding to every 9-1-1 call.
Here are the stats, from the New York Daily News:
The latest statistics, which cover the seven days ending Sunday, show that just one summons — for a quality of life infraction — was issued in the 84th Precinct. None were issued by officers in the 79th Precinct.
Citywide, only 2,128 summons were issued in the past week, compared to 26,512 for the previous week.
Arrests are also down for drugs, 115 compared to 523, and for guns, 14 compared to 35.
Transit arrests, meantime, plunged from 662 to 20 and housing arrests dropped from 258 to 65.
“Guys are on edge,” one police supervisor told the New York Daily News. “They’re still angry at the mayor and they’re not about to do anything they don’t absolutely have to do.”
In the past several days, the NYPD has literally turned its back on de Blasio, a move criticized as “passive-aggressive contempt and self-pity” by the New York Times. The mayor will meet with four union heads, along with Patrick Lynch of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, at 2 PM on Tuesday with the hope of “fostering a constructive and responsible dialogue.”
