News/Commentary

NYPD officers face increase in attacks from fearless criminals, say lawmakers ‘aren’t supporting us’

June 10, 2023 | | Print Article

As crime continues to soar in the progressive Big Apple, new NYPD data reveals that the men and women in blue have suffered a 32% increase in injuries from violent perpetrators so far this year, compared to last.

“From Jan. 1 to March 31, citywide, 1,251 on- and off-duty cops were hurt by people using physical force against them, compared to 949 in the first quarter of 2022,” the New York Post reports. “The majority of officer injuries – 1,179 – were minor, but 47 were considered ‘substantial’ and required treatment at a hospital, and 25 were seen as ‘serious’ enough to warrant admission to a hospital.”

While police are being pressured to make more arrests, one NYPD Transit Bureau officer told The Post on condition of anonymity, the suspects are defiant and unafraid of being locked up.

The officer was himself injured on the job this year after he and his sergeant attempted to arrest a man in the subway who decided he should ride for free.

“As soon as I stopped him, he said ‘F–k, you. I’m not giving you any other information,'” the officer said. “At this point, I got in front of him. I kept asking him for his I.D. He just pushed me out of the way because he felt he could get on the train without paying. My sergeant and I were trying to arrest him and he fell on me.”

The officer was forced to seek medical attention for a sore and swollen hand and still feels the injury today. He blames the “lawmakers” for the brazen behavior of the criminals he is trying to stop.

“Lawmakers aren’t supporting us,” the officer stated. “We could be standing at the train station and they’ll jump over the turnstile right in front of us. This is the atmosphere that was created [by lawmakers].”

Another recent attack on an NYPD officer — this one, from Queens — was caught on camera.

Shanique Varlack was on duty near 231st Street and Broadway when a Bronx pedestrian suddenly bashed her across the head with a glass bottle. The suspect, 40-year-old Jose Garcia, had 11 prior arrests and had to be pulled off Varlack by her fellow officers.


(Video: YouTube)

According to The Post, “The 40th Precinct, which serves the Port Morris, Mott Haven, and Melrose neighborhoods in the Bronx, saw 40 officer injuries – the highest number of any precinct – in the first quarter of 2023, closely followed by the 46th Precinct, also in the Bronx, which recorded 37 officer injuries.”

Overall, violent incidents involving police and perpetrators rose a shocking 20%, the “Use of Force” stats show. In 2022, there were 1,797 violent interactions. So far this year, that number stands at 2,152.

In 16 of the 1,779 incidents in which physical force was used by either the cops or the suspects, a weapon was used. Out of those, 13 involved firearms.

Not surprisingly, the number of suspects who were injured by members of the NYPD rose, too — a 38% jump from last year, or 913 injuries in 2023, compared to 661 in 2022.

Retired NYPD sergeant Joseph Giacalone points to bail reform and says it’s simply not a “fair fight.”

“Criminals are emboldened,” Giacalone, who is now an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told The Post. “They know they’re not going to Rikers. They know they’re not going to face any real-time. So they just keep churning them out and the cops have to deal with it.”

“There’s no way that [cops] can actually stay within the framework of that law and keep themselves protected and then take somebody into custody. It’s just not doable,” he stated. “Unfortunately, these injuries and assaults on cops are just going to keep going up because it’s not a fair fight.”

The officers are being reprimanded for taking action while the criminals believe there are “zero consequences” for fighting them, Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said.

“[C]riminals believe they can get the cop in trouble for taking action in the first place,” Lynch said. “Sadly, they’re right. These assaults won’t stop until lawmakers get serious about supporting the police officers who are trying to reclaim our streets from crime and disorder.”

 

Melissa Fine
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