Where's Frank Reagan when we need him?

Ok, it's official, I've had enough of the NYPD Union (PBA) justifying their recent disgraceful actions as being due to disrespect shown them by the mayor. This isn't Blue Bloods, and there's no Frank Reagan in the house, unfortunately.  This started when the mayor made a passing remark on the nature of conditions surrounding the death of Eric Garner, at the hands of  a police officer. (I'll use the term cop from here on for brevity. It isn't disrespectful, being derived from, depending on which source you believe,  copper buttons on the London Met uniforms, copper badges, the term "constable on patrol, or simply as a slang term 'cop' for capture)

        NYC isn't Ferguson, Mo,  and Eric Garner's lamentable death at the hands of a cop who applied an outlawed choke hold and refused to stop when Garner was unable to breathe was ruled a homicide, yet no one was charged. That triggered a wave of demonstrations and protests. Those believing that the system might work in this case were sorely disappointed. Video makes it plain that an unarmed father of four  who was no threat to anyone was killed without cause by one of four cops on the scene.

       I am well aware that those in law enforcement love to point out that theirs is a hard job (it definitely is ) and that the average  civilian has little or no idea how hard, also true.  However, as someone who has trained military personnel in the use of deadly force , and when it may be considered justified, this (the Garner incident) surely wasn't it, and no amount of revisionist bullshit can make it so, since the video is self explanatory.  Certainly the officer applying the choke hold could not have felt fear for his life, as he jumped Garner from behind.

        I say all that to say this: Public employee unions like many others, sometimes act as if every single member is always right, all the time, and any inference to the contrary (by management, the media, etc) is disloyal or unfair. This seems especially so in the case of NYPD  PBA, as the thin blue line forms any, and seemingly every, time any high profile questionable incident happens. This assumption  that the PBA seems to make,  that all cops are always superior persons who are  invariably trustworthy and  infallible is not only ludicrous, since no group is made up of perfect individuals, but it hurts the rank and file who do the best they can as imperfect persons  (as we all are) trying their best in an extremely difficult job. 

     Worse is the fact that when the ranks close in protection of  a high profile bad cop, like the man who killed Eric Garner, there seems to be a tendency for the organization to act more harshly and reflexively in subsequent lower profile cases, many of whom deserve support  by the union and management and don't get it because "we'll show them we can be tough on our own."

        I served as a union official of the largest labor union in America  (NEA) while a teacher and saw some members who expected the union to support them, even when they were clearly wrong. The union of which I was a member would fight to the last for a member who had been wronged, but we would  not support a member who had demonstrably done wrong other than to insure due process.  We also would never have mass demonstrated in support of   a member who had been videotaped doing the act in question, nor would we have disrespected the Superintendent if he had expressed his opinion of the person in question.  We also would never have stooped so low as to blame the correct response to  the bad actions of one member, as justification bad things done to other members.

        Apparently in the eyes of NYPD PBA , it is always wrong to acknowledge the high profile wrongdoing of a member, since members are never wrong.  To refute that idea (cops "all right, all the time")  I have a simple assignment, look up "Rampart scandal, LAPD 1990s."   The real disservice to the NYPD has been done, not by the Mayor, or Commissioner, but by a Union which protects a killer caught on tape and then blames subsequent events on the mayor for even hinting that maybe Eric Garner didn't need to die. 

     Shame on them, they disgrace the millions of good cops everywhere who do an almost impossible job to the best of their human) ability. As a coda, also shame on local departments who then overreact to the national uproar by jacking up good cops who may err honestly while doing their best.