An officer for the New York City Police Department was suspended without pay after a video of him saying “Trump 2020,” over the loudspeaker of his patrol cruiser was spread on social media.
According to NBC News, multiple videos were uploaded to social media of the officer using the speaker on his car to declare “Trump 2020,” for reasons that are still unclear. The NYPD News account on Twitter retweeted one of the videos saying that they are aware of the incident and that it is currently being investigated. NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea also decided to share his two cents, calling the officer’s actions “one hundred percent unacceptable.”
“Law Enforcement must remain apolitical, it is essential in our role to serve ALL New Yorkers regardless of any political beliefs,” Shea tweeted.
You already know New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had something to say, too. “Let me be clear: ANY NYPD Officer pushing ANY political agenda while on duty will face consequences,” the mayor tweeted. “We will act fast here, and this will not be tolerated.”
I love how they have this energy for an innocuous policy violation but when it comes to unarmed Black people getting killed by the police, it’s a whole different story. The officer was eventually suspended without pay on Sunday afternoon, according to a tweet from NYPD News.
As I said earlier, it’s unclear what spurred the officer to make such a pointless declaration. Considering how the police have behaved this year in the face of valid criticism, and the fact that the union representing New York police officers announced it was endorsing Trump back in August, I think we all just kind of assumed who the average police officer would be voting for this year.
The incident appeared to take place in the Flatbush area of Brooklyn. In one of the videos, the person recording can be heard goading the officer to “say it again,” to which the officer, foolishly, holds the speaker to his mouth and says “Trump 2020.”
Another video, recorded from a nearby apartment, shows the officer doubling down by saying “Put it on YouTube, put it on Facebook. Trump 2020.”
I love that dude was so bold to be like “put it on social media! See what happens!” only to now be out of a check. Law enforcement, truly the best and the brightest.
The NYPD prohibits officers from expressing their political views or endorsing a political candidate while in uniform and on duty. It’s not simply frowned upon, it’s straight up in the official rulebook. So, it beats me why ol’ boy felt so confident he could break the rules and nothing would happen.
I know we always talk about how the president has emboldened people to indulge their worst instincts, but the thing that has become increasingly apparent over the last four years is literally no one normal gets away with it.
If you’re working a regular old 9-5, and reside in the tax brackets that don’t benefit from Republican tax cuts, you’re just as expendable as the rest of us. How many regular-ass folks have lost their jobs, homes, and social standing because they thought, for some reason, that Trump being president meant actions no longer have consequences?
I just don’t get fumbling a bag simply because you wanna be a dick. Especially during a pandemic, no less.
The incident in New York comes only a week after a police officer in Miami was seen wearing a pro-Trump face mask while in uniform near a polling station. That officer was also found to be in violation of department policy and is currently facing disciplinary action.