NYTimes | The
madness has to stop. The problem is not that a two-week suspension of
“broken windows” policing is going to unleash chaos in the city. The
problem is that cops who refuse to do their jobs and revel in showing
contempt to their civilian leaders are damaging the social order all by
themselves.
Mr.
de Blasio, who has been cautious since the shootings, found his voice
on Monday, saying for the first time that the police officers’ protests
of turning their backs at the slain officers’ funerals had been
disrespectful to the families of the dead. He was right, but he needs to
do more.
He should appeal directly to the public and say plainly that the police are trying to extort him and the city he leads.
If
the Police Department’s current commanders cannot get the cops to do
their jobs, Mr. de Blasio should consider replacing them.
He
should invite the Justice Department to determine if the police are
guilty of civil rights violations in withdrawing policing from minority
communities.
He should remind the police that they are public employees, under oath to uphold city and state laws.
If
Mr. de Blasio’s critics are right and the city is coming unglued, it is
not because of what he has done. He was elected by an overwhelming
vote, because he promised action on police reform, starting with the end
of stop-and-frisk tactics that corralled so many innocent New Yorkers
into the criminal-justice system. The city got the mayor it wanted — and
then, because of Mr. de Blasio, it got Mr. Bratton.
Mr.
Bratton’s faith in “broken windows” needs rethinking. But nothing will
be fixed as long as police officers are refusing to do their jobs.
