DON'T BLAME THE COP IN

DON’T BLAME THE COP IN NYC, CNSNews reports:

New York’s finest have a message for city residents and visitors angry over a wave of misdemeanor criminal, traffic and parking citations issued under orders from City Hall: “Don’t Blame the Cop!”

Patrick J. Lynch, president of the New York City Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA), said Thursday that Mayor Michael Bloomberg is changing the primary mission of the city’s law enforcement officers.

“City Hall is trying to turn us into a revenue-generating agency rather than a policing agency,” Lynch told CNSNews.com Thursday. The PBA has launched a print and broadcast ad campaign called “Don’t Blame the Cop!” to tell their side of the story.

Lynch said the mayor’s office has “put a quota on the number of summonses” police officers must issue and specifically instructed officers to write citations that will result in fines.

“So they’re telling us how many to give out and what types to give out,” he explained.

As an example, Lynch noted that, in the past, officers have been given the discretion to write safety violation notices to motorists with broken taillights or other vehicle equipment problems.

“When you give out an equipment summons, the citizen can get it fixed, get it checked by a police officer, and there is no fine attached,” Lynch explained. “So they’d rather us give out summonses that bring in the dollar bill rather than the summons that actually saves a life.”

Is there anybody in New York who actually likes Bloomberg and his policies? Does he actually think they’re improving the quality of life there?

I wonder how all this will play out next year when the GOP’s convention is in town.