Former NYC Police Commissioner Warns 600 Cops On Verge Of Quitting As Mayor Vows To Cut Funding

A former New York Police Commissioner told Fox News on Monday that he heard up to 600 NYPD cops are on the verge of either retiring or quitting following the events of the last 2 weeks, during which NYC saw some of the most violent demonstrations in the country. The protests saw violence perpetrated against police by violent instigators and looters who operated in organized crews. However, a flurry of optically terrible videos of police attacking peaceful or nonviolent protesters have turned Democratic politicians in the city, including the mayor, decidedly against the NYPD.

New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik appeared on Fox News for the second time in a week (following an appearance on Tucker Tuesday evening that was criticized by the Washington Post) over the weekend to share the troubling news.

After years of clashing with 1 Police Plaza, Mayor de Blasio announced on Sunday that he would implement recommendations from a 'racial inclusion' committee led by his wife, which recommended shifting funding from the NYPD to youth and social services organizations.

The mayor's decision to side with demonstrators who attacked police in a few isolated instances (like when a group of protesters surrounding an NYPD police van) largely soured the rank and file and union leaders, who have slammed de Blasio as incompetent, and have urged him to step down.

Last week, NY Comptroller (and, according to some, mayor-in-waiting) Scott Stringer recommended shaving $1.1 billion from the NYPD budget over four years. Currently, the city spends ~$6 billion a year on maintaining the country's largest police force, with about ~45k sworn officers and thousands more civilian employees.

This has shattered what little remained of police morale over the past 2 weeks, as the media and the public have largely ignored the hundreds of cops who have been injured and dozens who have been hospitalized - with several even killed. One of the most gruesome incidents involved a cop being hit by a car in Brooklyn.

“You have some in the hospital. But there were over 300, 300 injuries. And the thing that scares me, judge, I'm hearing close to 600 cops have either put in their papers, or they're talking to the department about resigning or retiring, like this is insane,” he said.

Kerik served as Giuliani's police commissioner during 9/11 and its aftermath, though his reputation was later tarnished by corruption charges that led to a jail term.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/former-nyc-police-commissioner-warns-600-cops-verge-quitting-mayor-vows-cut-funding

Army Leaders Defend National Guard Deployments to D.C., Say Five Guardsmen Injured as Rioters Threw Bricks, Urine

Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy and commander of the District of Columbia National Guard Army Maj. Gen. William J. Walker defended the use of National Guardsmen in Washington, DC, last week amid criticism from the left over their deployment, during a press briefing on Sunday.

McCarthy said the night of Sunday, May 31, before more National Guardsmen were ordered onto the streets, five D.C. National Guardsmen were injured with bricks and other projectiles, including one who suffered a severe concussion.

“Sunday evening … we had five soldiers hit in the head with bricks. One of which has a severe concussion, the other four — all five of them were treated at the hospital. One of them … was sent home,” he said, adding that the park in front of the White House got “very violent.”

“It got very violent down in the park in particular. [Police said] it was the most violent they’d ever seen it in the city, and we needed to put additional support down there to ensure we could enable peaceful demonstration and prevent another evening like we had Sunday night,” he said.

Walker said that protesters on Sunday were “armed with cylinder blocks.”

“I had a soldier that had a concussion. There were bags of bricks,” he said.

On Monday, he said, they threw frozen water bottles, eggs, and fireworks.

“Eggs and water bottles, we don’t know what was in the water bottles. But that was being thrown frozen. So frozen water bottles. So think about a frozen water bottle coming at you as a projectile,” he said. He said some of the water bottles contained urine.

“There were also fireworks being thrown at our soldiers and airmen. So I think they displayed enormous courage, discipline, and restraint,” he said.

Walker, who is African American, said the D.C. National Guard only had 250 members supporting different law enforcement agencies on Sunday night during the apex of violence in the city:

We went from 250 on Sunday to over 1,500 supporting a variety of different organizations over the course of the week after all of the violence on Sunday evening, as well as the defacing of the Lincoln Monument, the burning of St. John’s church, the burning of the technical building in Lafayette Park, the defacing of Veterans Affairs and the Treasury Department, among others, and I think stores were looted down there.

…

Stores were looted. Think about if something were to happen to the Dr. King Memorial. Just let that process, what that might have done to exacerbate the situation. The African American museum. So we were dealing with a thin force already; we had to quickly look bigger than we actually are.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/06/08/army-leaders-defend-national-guard-deployments-to-d-c-say-five-guardsmen-injured-as-rioters-threw-bricks-urine/