Posted on January 27, 2021

Tish James’ Lawsuit Against NYPD over Last Summer’s Riots Is Pure Politics

Jim Quinn, New York Post, January 24, 2021

Given its stunning lack of context, New York Attorney General Letitia James’ federal lawsuit against the New York Police Department can be seen as only one thing: a political hit piece, not a serious, legitimate court filing.

James wants the court to appoint a federal “monitor” to oversee the department’s policing tactics in future protests and “ensure compliance with the law.” {snip}

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That office’s mission: “to review, study, audit and make recommendations relating to the operations, policies, programs and practices” of state and local law-enforcement agencies, including the NYPD. {snip}

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But let’s look at the AG’s filing. At the time in question, from May 28 to June 6, the city was in utter chaos, yet her sole mention of criminality in her 69-page filing is: “There were instances of property damage and injuries to NYPD officers at or near some of these early protests.”

That was how James described more than 350 cops being injured, over 450 businesses destroyed, vandalized or set afire and more than 300 NYPD vehicles damaged or destroyed — in just 10 days!

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And remember: The city was experiencing violence and upheaval the likes of which we haven’t seen in decades.

In its own excellent report, DOI chronicled the protests: over 100 major demonstrations and countless smaller ones in every borough of NYC, involving tens of thousands of people.

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James’ lawsuit is simply just another attack on the NYPD, which seems to be fashionable nowadays. {snip}

The claim that the NYPD — now a “majority minority” police force — is racist, brutal and uncontrolled ignores basic facts.

Police shootings are way down: In 2019, the 36,397 members of the NYPD responded to more than 6.4 million calls, of which 64,302 involved weapons, and made 3,299 gun arrests. Yet they fired their guns in “adversarial conflict” only 25 times, the second lowest number on record. In 1972, city cops discharged their firearms 994 times.

Perhaps our politicians like James should spend a little time investigating why the city’s murder rate rose 41 percent last year, or why shooting victims soared 97 percent. In 2020, 447 people were murdered, 130 more than in 2019. Over 1,855 people were shot, many suffering grievous, life-altering wounds — for a total of 941 more than in 2019.

These victims are overwhelmingly people of color. Do James & Co. care?

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