On Sunday and Monday night, protests sparked by the death of George Floyd continued in New York City, stretching across all five boroughs and metastasizing into shattered storefronts in Midtown, SoHo, and Chelsea. Arrayed against the protesters have been phalanxes of NYPD officers, often in full riot gear. Over the past several days, reports have surfaced of one NYPD officer shoving a protester, one appearing to brandish his gun, and police vehicles seemingly driving into a crowd. (All three incidents are under investigation, both by the NYPD and by an independent review established by the mayor. The NYPD did not respond to a request for comment on the incidents from CNN.) Several officers I spoke with felt that Mayor Bill de Blasio had left them high and dry, with the lack of leadership only making a complex situation worse. “Cops are going to work and getting hurt and there hasn’t been much from leadership in the city or [from] the governor,” said one NYPD officer. “Nobody is doing anything. [De Blasio] is playing both sides.”
“We are starting to go on 12-hour shifts,” the officer noted, “so they’re definitely expecting this to last a while.” At the same time, the officer described a strategic and tactical failure at the top. “What are we really protecting? The idea of policing is to protect life, that’s first and foremost, but [protesters are] not attacking each other. They’re not killing each other. They’re not hurting each other…So, are we mustering up in these locations…just to be attacked? … A peaceful protest is one thing but it’s starting to get out of hand, the National Guard…bring ’em all in.”
In response to the protests, the department is beefing up its countermeasures. A memo obtained by Vanity Fair that was circulated among an NYPD unit on May 30 stated that all solo patrols would be temporarily suspended. “All members of the service, both uniform and civilian, will not be assigned to perform solo patrol regardless of bureau, command, or assignment…until further notice,” the memo read. In theory, the curfew announced by de Blasio and Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday was designed to alleviate some of the pressure, and to deter looters, who are reportedly distinct from peaceful protesters and often operate late at night. But officers were skeptical. “I don’t see it working. They’re supposed to be home anyway because of COVID-19, and that hasn’t stopped them,” the NYPD officer said. Another called the measure “ridiculous,” noting, “people that are going to break the law aren’t going to follow that one either.”
“There’s no real instruction on the curfew,” said a third officer. “It’s 11:01pm and thousands of people are out, but what do we do? Do we arrest them? Then when we enforce it…Now when it gets ugly we don’t get support [from leadership].”
Many cops feel that some of the protests, like the ones in Manhattan on Sunday and Monday night, crossed a line, one that the city’s leadership had completely missed. “I support the people’s right to protest if they deem it necessary. It’s one of the things that make our country great,” said the second NYPD officer, who has been with the department for 14 years. As for the skirmishes occurring in and around protests, he blamed a disconnect between police officers and civilians that he said is directly linked to city and state leadership. “The mayor and the governor come out…saying that what we’re doing is wrong in regards to handling protests,” he said. De Blasio “came out [against] protesting during the coronavirus…but said these protests were necessary and he supports them. His message is all over the place because he has no clue how to handle what’s going on.” He added that “taking the people off the streets and locking them up will reduce the problem of riots, and will send the message that this type of action won’t be tolerated.”