[Peace-discuss] Cops And GOP Teaming Up Against Mayor de Blasio of NYC

[David Johnson via Peace-discuss]

Cops And GOP Teaming Up Against de Blasio

Description: Police turn back on Mayor Deblasio


By Max Blumenthal,
<http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/emails-and-racist-chats-show-how-
cops-and-gop-are-teaming-undermine-de-blasio?paging=off&current_page=1#bookm
ark> www.alternet.org
December 30th, 2014

When hundreds of cops from around the country and as far away as Canada
turned their backs on New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio during the funeral
of Officer Rafael Ramos, the NYPD officer shot to death alongside his
partner Wenjian Liu by a deranged gunman, they fired the first salvo in a
carefully coordinated political operation aimed at discrediting the liberal
mayor and shattering the ongoing anti-police brutality protest movement.

AlterNet has obtained emails revealing plans to organize a series of anti-de
Blasio protests around the city until the summer of 2015. Billed as a
non-partisan movement in support of "the men and women of the NYPD," the
protests are being orchestrated by a cast of NYPD union officials and local
Republican activists allied with Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor who
recently
<http://www.politico.com/story/2014/12/rudy-giuliani-bill-de-blasio-new-york
-police-113829.html#ixzz3NFmesyfB> called on de Blasio to "say you're sorry
to [NYPD officers] for having created a false impression of them." The first
rally is planned to take place at Queens Borough Hall at noon on January 13.

Joe Concannon, a failed Republican State Senate candidate and current
president of the Tea Party-aligned Queens Village Republican Club, is the
main organizer of the burgeoning anti-de Blasio protest effort. The retired
NYPD captain and former Giuliani advisor is a
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvb63Fnm4CU> close ally of Patrolmen's
Benevolent Association president Patrick Lynch. Lynch generated national
headlines - and cheers from rank and file cops - when he claimed that de
Blasio "has blood on [his] hands" just hours after Ismaaiyl Brinsley
murdered Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.

In an email exchange with a supporter, Concannon said he and his allies had
filed papers to found a non-profit to fund the anti-de Blasio campaign. The
January 13 Queens demonstration would be among the largest, according to
Concannon. Major rallies in March in Breezy Point, Queens and at City Hall
were also in the works, he said.

In a separate email dated December 26 and titled, "Support Your Police
rallies," Concannon declared the onset of a campaign he dubbed Operation All
Out. "Everyone MUST get out and support these fine men and women," he
implored several NYPD associates.

Jack Coughlin, the treasurer of the NYPD Superior Officers Association,
responded by proposing "a rally held in Breezy Point in March when the
weather will be better [that] could attract thousands of pro-cop supporters
to counter the professional anti-cop organizers." Coughlin went on to urge
Concannon to pressure Republican representatives Peter King and Lee Zeldin
and NY GOP State Chairman Ed Cox to "get the House Homeland Committee to
hold public hearings on who's financing Al Sharpton's anti-cop protest."

National Police Defense Foundation executive director Joseph Occhipinti
chimed in to offer help in coordinating the demonstrations. "I would suggest
that everything go through the [Patrick Lynch's Patrolmen's Benevolent
Association] for any organized protests," he added. A former agent of the
Immigration and Naturalization Service, Occhipinti was
<http://www.nytimes.com/1991/06/29/nyregion/immigration-agent-guilty-of-viol
ating-rights.html> convicted in 1991 of conducting illegal searches and
narrowly escaped jail time for allegedly stealing $16,000 from his victims.
When the US attorney who secured his conviction, Jeh Johnson, was appointed
by Obama to direct the Department of Homeland Security last year, Occhipinti
<http://dailycaller.com/2013/10/28/obamas-nominee-for-homeland-security-inti
midated-law-enforcement/> rushed to the right-wing writer Charles C. Johnson
to complain.

The anger coursing through the ranks of the NYPD is driving union bosses
like Lynch to ratchet up their rhetoric against the mayor. Lynch is up for
election soon and seems desperate to channel the resentment of his
constituents. Meanwhile, Republican operatives see a chance to do fatal
damage to a rising Democratic star and close Clinton ally by resurrecting
the kind of racial backlash politics that won them urban white votes during
the Nixon era.

Not since the early 1970s, when liberal mayor John Lindsay presided over a
politically chaotic and crime-ridden New York, has a mayor been so reviled
by the NYPD. With an African-American wife with a history of liberal
activism and a biracial son who played a pivotal role in his campaign for
mayor, de Blasio has become, at least for some cops, a symbol of everything
they despise about the city they patrol. Though
<http://www.democracynow.org/2014/12/29/nypd_officer_speaks_out_on_fellow>
some officers support de Blasio's calls to reform the NYPD - particularly
<http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/leader-of-latino-police-group-urges-co
ps-to-tone-down-rhetoric-1.9754572> Latino and black cops - there seems to
be no organized force within the department capable of obstructing the
campaign against the Mayor.

A cursory glance at message boards on a semi-private police chat forum
suggests that opposition to de Blasio within NYPD ranks has descended into
raw racial paranoia.

NYPD Officers, In Their Own Words

On Thee Rant, a popular chat site known to be an online watercooler for
active duty and retired NYPD officers, commenters
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/762003/Report-Black-Guerrilla-Family-Threat-
Invade-Shoot-Brook#reply-762003> fret about possible ambushes by black gang
members, obsess over radical leftists,
<http://theerant.yuku.com/topic/72345/To-all-you-CHIPOTLE-patrons-I-call-to-
boycott#.VJ_fK8AAQ> organize boycotts of chain stores and a Chipotle outlet
they
<http://http/theerant.yuku.com/topic/72729/CVS-MYRTLE-AVE-Queens-REFUSED-MOS
LEO-Utilize-Restrooms#.VJ_dLcAAQ> deem "anti-cop," and hatch plots to target
protest leaders. While the forum attracts a disproportionate number of cops
with a proclivity for outrageous hyperventilation, it also offers a rare
look at the unvarnished views of the retired police activists and old guard
officers mobilizing against the mayor.

As veteran NYPD observer Len Levitt
<http://nypdconfidential.com/columns/2012/120903.html> wrote of the forum,
officers "are often so constricted by the department that Thee Rant is often
their only outlet. That's good, until it isn't."

In comment threads, de Blasio is routinely referred to as "Kaiser Wilhelm,"
a derisive reference to his birth name, Warren Wilhelm Jr. Police resentment
of de Blasio has simmered since his campaign for mayor, when he ran against
Bloomberg's stop-and-frisk policies. The anti-de Blasio sentiment grew
during the early months of his term, as he wrangled with the Policemen's
Benevolent Association (PBA) over police salaries and dropped a Bloomberg
appeal of a federal lawsuit that found NYPD officers unfairly targeted
people of color with stop-and-frisk tactics.

But nothing fueled NYPD outrage like de Blasio's relationship with Al
Sharpton. When the mayor hired a former Sharpton aide, Rachel Noerdlinger,
as the chief of staff to his wife, Chirlane McCray, then
<http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/18/nyregion/rachel-noerdlinger-top-mayoral-a
ide-to-take-a-leave-of-absence.html> defended Noerdlinger against atorrent
of bad press for her relationship with an ex-convict and her son's Facebook
postings referring to cops as "pigs," NYPD anger exploded.

On a Thee Rant forum, commenters homed in on Noerdlinger's race (she is
black) and her gender. While one commenter
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/743215/Mayoral-aide-Rachel-Noerdlinger-ex-be
au-mum-City-Hall-dra#reply-743215> described her as "a weed soaked cum
dumpster low life POS," another officer wrote of her and her partner: "The
bit-ch will be bugging mofo's ass, if she hasn't done so already, about
making nigge-r noise in court and he will begin clobbering her, and then
junior will jump in and snap his neck!"

"They're born N I _ _ E R S , live like N I _ _ E R S and usually die like N
I _ _ E R S," a police commenter
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/743187/Mayoral-aide-Rachel-Noerdlinger-ex-be
au-mum-City-Hall-dra#reply-743187> added. His language was typical of
commentary appearing on the forum whenever Noerdlinger's name was mentioned.

When de Blasio remarked this month that he had instructed his son, Dante, to
use extra caution when engaging with cops, Thee Rant commenters lit up the
chat boards. In a typically lurid thread, a Thee Rant commenter made light
of the struggle de Blasio's daughter, Chiara, has waged with substance
abuse. "Somebody should slip her a 'hot bag,'" a fellow officer who called
himself Thisroundsoneme
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/761929/VOTE-OF-NO-CONFIDENCE#reply-761929>
replied, suggesting a cop plant drugs on her to frame her for possession.

A Staten Island grand jury's refusal to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo for
strangling Eric Garner to death was not only a cause for celebration at Thee
Rant, but an excuse for a new wave of racist tirades. "F u c k  Black
America, their equal or worse than whites, when speaking of Racism." wrote
Eddie R, a forum commenter. "F u c k  Diversity, it's not working and never
will work."

"The latinos are about 24 percent of the population as opposed to the 13
percent that negroes comprise. Perhaps that is why our 'brethren of color'
are using any excuse to act up," another NYPD commenter
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/755114/Cop-cleared-in-Eric-Garner-chokehold-
death#reply-755114> added.

When the killing of Ramos and Liu was first reported, Thee Rant commenters
leapt to blame de Blasio, and for the first time, focused their loathing on
Bratton. "Allowing these savage animals to get away with the SHYT they are
is the reason this happened. The blood is on your hands Mr Mayor and You
Police Commissioner Bratton," a forum member
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/760328/VOTE-OF-NO-CONFIDENCE#reply-760328>
declared,foreshadowing remarks by the PBA's Lynch.

NYPD Commissioner Bratton has emerged in recent weeks as a hate figure on
Thee Rant forums. The angry cops have dubbed him "Beansy," mocking his thick
Boston accent and deriding him as a hyper-ambitious, imperious technocrat
who has served as a political stage prop for the liberal de Blasio. While
one forum commenter called for a PBA vote of no confidence for both de
Blasio and Bratton, another waxed nostalgic for Ray Kelly, the former
commissioner whose legacy was defined by his defense of stop-and-frisk. "The
difference between Kelly and Bratton is Kelly, for better or for worse ran
the Department while Bratton holds DeBlasio's coat," a commenter who called
himself Petefio
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/760516/VOTE-OF-NO-CONFIDENCE#reply-760516>
wrote.

As the demonstrations against police brutality spread, some Thee Rant
commenters vowed to target protest organizers like
<http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/8/20/policing-new-yorksfinest.ht
ml> Jose LaSalle, an activist with Copwatch who documents police abuses in
the Bronx. "Jose hates white people!"
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/763188/Do-you-wonder-who-is-sponsoring-the-p
rotest#reply-763188> wrote a commenter who identified himself as a former
member of the NYPD and went by the handle, Retirednutjob. "What a shock! Why
don't he go back to Puerto Rico? Go harass the Police down there Jose and
see what happens!"

The ex-cop went on to post what he said was LaSalle's home phone number and
suggested a campaign to force him out of his job with the New York City
Parks Department. "Come on we are a powerful force of retired investigators
and private eyes and various other sources, lets start following and
watching these !%@% stirrers it cant be that hard to find dirt and discredit
these azzholes," Baysidedet
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/763193/Do-you-wonder-who-is-sponsoring-the-p
rotest#reply-763193> clamored.

>From #TurnYourBack to Operation All Out

At the Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn where Ramos and Liu were pronounced
dead on December 20, the PBA and Sergeants Benevolent Association received
word that de Blasio was on his way. It was the police union bosses' chance
to embrace the raw rage of the beat cops they represented. When the mayor
arrived, proceeding down a long hallway past a line of officers,
<http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/nypd-cops-turn-backs-de-blasi
o-hospital-article-1.2052215> the cops turned their backs to him in a show
of total contempt.

"That blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall in the office of
the mayor," the PBA's Lynch
<http://gothamist.com/2014/12/21/cops_shot_nyc_nypd.php> proclaimed
afterwards. "When these funerals are over, those responsible will be called
on the carpet and held accountable."

The following day, actor James Woods seized on the protest to popularize a
hashtag on Twitter: #TurnYourBack. Woods' first tweet, published just hours
after the spontaneous protest took place, has been retweeted more than 2500
times.

 
<https://www.popularresistance.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Screen-Shot-20
14-12-30-at-11.23.07-AM.png> Description: Screen Shot 2014-12-30 at 11.23.07
AM

Woods is one of the Tea Party right's favorite celebrities and happens to be
a friend and golfing partner of Rudy Giuliani. In fact, Woods played the
former NYC mayor in the forgotten post-9/11 biopic, Rudy. "I fought tooth
and nail to portray him as the genuine hero that I unequivocally believe him
to be," Woods
<http://enquirer.com/editions/2003/03/17/tem_rudymovie17.html> said at the
time.

With help from Woods and Rupert Murdoch's New York Post and Fox News
Channel, where Giuliani
<http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/giuliani-on-cops-turning-backs-mayor-de-
blasio-bringing-it-on-himself-by-talking-about-biracial-son/> blamedthe
Mayor for "bringing [police protests] on himself," the NYPD's war on de
Blasio became a flashpoint for the national partisan battle. The stage was
set for an epic rebuke of de Blasio.

Nearly 700 cops from around the country and Canada descended on New York
City for the December 27 funeral of the murdered officer Rafael Ramos,
taking advantage of an offer from Jet Blue of
<http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/700-cops-flying-rafael-ramos-funeral-fr
ee-jetblue-article-1.2057762> free flights to the memorial. Among those
represented at the ceremony were
<http://www.koat.com/news/nm-officers-attend-slain-nypd-officers-funeral/304
21422> members of the Albuquerque Police Department, a scandal-stained force
with the
<http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/inside-twisted-police-department-ki
lls-unarmed-citizens-highest-rate-country> highest rateof shootings of
unarmed civilians in the country.

As soon as de Blasio appeared on a large screen monitor positioned outside
the church where the funeral took place, cops who may never have heard the
mayor's name responded to the cue to turn their backs. "100% including
Volunteer FD guys from Long Island and Cops from everywhere from Canadian
Mounties to San Diego and San Francisco, and everywhere in between [turned
their backs],"
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/763168/Cops-thousands-TURN-BACKS-Kaiser-Wilh
elms-speech#reply-763168> recalled Thee Rant member Thisroundsonme. "Even
civilians in the rear behind the detail turned their backs as word spread as
to what was going on."

Another cop put the protest
<http://theerant.yuku.com/reply/763160/Cops-thousands-TURN-BACKS-Kaiser-Wilh
elms-speech#reply-763160> in perspective: "This was a show of solidarity for
the Police nationwide. Cops everywhere are under attack by the public they
protect, and the politicians who should be supporting their Police are
derelict in their duties. And this is what you get."

Officer Liu's funeral on January 3 will present police with one more
opportunity to admonish de Blasio. Then Operation All Out begins, with
Republican operatives hoping to ride out of the political wilderness on the
rising tide of cop rage. In an email to a supporter, Queens Village
Republican Club president Joe Concannon referred to the planned wave of
protests as "our plan to keep it in the news for the first half of 2015."

 

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