Is it safe to police America’s big cities?
By Joseph Concannon
A couple of days ago I borrowed a graphic I found posted on LinkedIn by another retired captain, “Get Out Of Jail Free” card. Those who are familiar with “Monopoly” will be familiar with this card from the popular board game. It was funny at first and got a chuckle out of a number of people. I posted the graphic on social media and everyone enjoyed how much this joke seriously reflected real life.
Yet New York Democrat legislators buoyed by the fact they just won a stinging majority in the NYS Senate, once the bastion of Republicans, gathered in jubilant victory in Albany to show all New Yorkers their radical progressive agenda. You could laugh this off and say we told you so, but each of you needs to feel and hear the pain this causes for your fellow New Yorkers. How New York State releases criminals only to be picked up by Federal authorities later on. How New York State ignores the mental health crisis hitting our streets and how every member of society is at risk because of it. Monsey, NY is another example where the home of a Jewish rabbi was invaded over the holiday and a very sick, mentally ill man who struck guests with a machete was a crime in the making for years, but largely ignored by the NYS Legislature. How a young boy in a park playing basketball is shot and killed and it becomes just another number in the end of year homicide count. How a young Laurelton man would be walking today if only the police enforced the noise code in the 105th Precinct. Instead, a bullet found his spine after the police were rebuffed the first time and a later radio run found this Laurelton man lying face down on the ground with a bullet in his back. This victim’s dilemma was a policy change by the NYC Mayor. Thank you, Bill de Blasio. The stories of the innocent and the fallen heroes like Liu, Ramos, Moore, and others goes on and on. They are all are victims of a political system where 75% of the voters couldn’t give a damn.
This all started with Mark Weprin and the Community Safety Act. Few will remember, but it was the moment when then City Councilman Weprin did a 180 on Law Enforcement and voted yes to abolish the practice of Stop, Question and Frisk, and usher in the progressive wing of the New York City Council. A day some of us will never forget.
Police Officer Eddie Byrne gave his life for our city which was the turning point for crime control in New York City, just as the number of murders reached beyond 2000 a year. As one police officer after the next was cut down in the streets, crime, disorder and fear were aggressively addressed. Some of us will never forget. For Cuomo, de Blasio the City Council, it’s the politics of the moment, for the families of the fallen, it’s the story of their lives. Mark Weprin left public service mid-term to work for a Law Firm so he could pay for good schools for his children. We wish him and his family well. However, the stain of his time at the NYC Council will be never be forgotten and when New Yorkers tire of the bodies piling up again they too will call upon the NYPD and ask them once again to shoulder the responsibility of bringing crime, disorder and fear under control. The price NYPD will pay for this effort will not come for free and not without more families shattered.
We vote Republican for many different reasons as individuals. As a club we vote Republican because we understand “broken windows” works, and because we understand the responsibility of not only joining together with the community in unity to make our streets safe but also to hold residents accountable to a standard of behavior which makes us a free people. Please remember voting matters and elections have consequences.
Joseph Concannon is a retired NYPD Captain, former Republican candidate for New York City Council, First Vice President of QVGOP, and past president of NY Metro InfraGard
