During New York’s heatwave, a shirtless man in Harlem flung a red bucket at a police officer trying to detain someone on the hood of his cruiser. It hit him in the head as a crowd of onlookers watched and gasped. Hearing no objection, the man and his friends continued to douse the officer and his partner with water.
A few days later, two officers in Brooklyn were sprayed with a water hose as they walked back to their car. The encounter was caught on camera, and in the now-viral video, a young man can be seen running up to the officer and dumping a bucket of water directly on one officer’s head. Again, the onlookers watched, some even laughed.
The incidents are indicative of a growing resentment toward law enforcement in the Big Apple, and state lawmakers have had enough. Two New York state assemblymen have introduced a bill that would make it a Class E felony to throw or spray water or any other substance at an on-duty police officer. The charge would be punishable by up to four years in prison.
“This is disgraceful,” Assemblyman Mike LiPetri of Long Island said. “The men and women in blue are people in our neighborhoods. Let us not forget that these officers took a sacred oath … We believe it is time that we return to a society that understands the fundamental belief in right versus wrong.”
The New York Police Department and the city’s police unions have suggested the state’s politicians, like Mayor Bill de Blasio, share part of the blame for using “anti-police rhetoric.” To his credit, de Blasio was quick to condemn the attacks and praise the officers for their restraint. “We won’t tolerate this kind of disrespect,” the mayor said.
But why did these young men think their actions would be tolerated in the first place? Perhaps de Blasio’s rhetoric has added to the strained relationship between city officials and law enforcement, but it’s difficult to argue that he should be held accountable for the actions of brash, foolish residents, too.
Still, these young men felt comfortable dismissing and lashing out against officers charged with enforcing the rule of law. Read one too many stories about officers abusing their power, and suspicion can become disdain.
The legislation might be overkill, but perhaps it’ll also serve as a reminder to its intended beneficiaries that respect is a two-way street that benefits us all.
—By Kaylee McGhee
