New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez makes it a point to criticize police even when they don't deserve it. The recent police action to clear the illegal tent encampment at Columbia University last week is a case in point.
“Not only did Columbia make the horrific decision to mobilize NYPD on their own students, but the units called in have some of the most violent reputations on the force,” the congresswoman said on Wednesday.
"Their own students" were threatening Jewish students and slinging antisemitic slurs at them. Several Jewish students reported being physically assaulted. I would say that was plenty of justification to call in the cops.
AOC's major beef is that the unit called in to remove the illegal tent encampment were members of the SRG (Strategic Response Group).
“NYPD had promised the city they wouldn’t deploy SRG [Strategic Response Group] to protests. So why are these counterterror units here?”
Any police unit called in to break up protests is going to be hit with the "police brutality" moniker. It goes with the territory.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chells wasn't taking that kind of criticism from AOC.
“Not a single incident was reported,” Chell added in his tweet on X at Ocasio-Cortez. “The only incidents that day on campus were the student’s hateful anti-Semitic speech and vile language towards our cops. I am sure you agree any hateful speech is unacceptable. You should rethink your comments to a simple thank you to the NYPD and hate has no place in our society.”
The chief wasn't done throwing some shade at AOC.
“Truly amazing!” he wrote. “Columbia decided to hold its students accountable to the laws of the school. They are seeing the consequences of their actions. Something these kids were most likely never taught.”
“Good SAT scores and self-entitlement do not supersede the law,” he added. “I am sure you would agree that we have to teach them these valuable life skills.”
Chell was backed up by NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry, who also encouraged Ocasio-Cortez to take a tour of Columbia’s campus.
“Everyday, [our officers] have to endure insults, threats, and hate speech merely because of the uniform they wear as they try to keep the peace and protect everyone’s rights,” Daughtry wrote. “I encourage you @AOC to visit Columbia and do a walk through; I promise our officers will, like always, do their job, and protect you like they have protected everyone on campus regardless of what your political beliefs are.”
“We’ll also take a report if you feel threatened,” he added.
Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson visited the campus on Wednesday and demanded that university president Minouche Shafik resign and that, if order was not restored, the National Guard should be called in.
Mayor Eric Adams sounded insulted.
“We’re controlling this in the New York City Police Department — no one does it better,” he told CBS New York. “We do not need the National Guard.”
Chell has been vigorously defending his officers since the protests began
“We’re defending our young men and women, our cops who are defending this city,” he said on NY1 this month. “But sometimes, some of the people we’re talking to only understand that kind of language. OK, we have an opinion. We have a platform. And sometimes we’re going to give it out.”
This isn't 2020 and the George Floyd protests. The cops have learned a lot about how to fight back against narratives that portray them in a bad light. It's easy when the cops haven't done anything wrong and, in fact, have performed superbly under difficult conditions.
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