NYPD Commissioner Calls for "Healing" After Killing of Five Cops in Dallas (Updated)

Pictured: NYPD Chief of Department James O'Neill, speaking Friday, with Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, right. Photo by John V. Santore

ONE POLICE PLAZA, MANHATTAN — NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton on Friday said the shooting of 12 police officers in Dallas, Texas, five fatally, must "serve as a catalyst to try to continue [the] healing process" that will bring police forces and community members together around the United States.

That attack, Bratton said, was reminiscent of the apparent revenge shooting of NYPD officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos, killed in Bed-Stuy in December 2014 by a gunman who had posted online, "I’m Putting Wings On Pigs Today."

The Dallas attack, Bratton said, "needs to be a clarion call to take seriously the grievances that many in the minority community have" about policing, as well as a motivator driving civilians to understand the fears and concerns shared by cops on the beat.

"We need to find common ground," Bratton said, adding that in "45 years in the business, I've never seen anything quite like" the premeditated Texas killings. He then added, "We cannot tolerate racial injustice," or "injustice directed against police forces."

The assault took place during a large, peaceful protest against police brutality, itself a response to several recent police shootings of black men, including Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castille in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Mayor Bill de Blasio described the shootings as "an evil and unacceptable attack" that was "an attempt to undermine our values [and] everything our democracy is about."

The Dallas officers, de Blasio said, were on duty "protecting the protesters' rights, and they protected the protesters even as bullets were hailing down," a demonstration of "all that is good about our police and the work they do."

On Thursday, about 1,000 people associated with the Black Lives Matter movement took to the streets in Manhattan in protest against police brutality, leading to dozens of arrests.

De Blasio asked those protesting in the future to obey the law. He also asked "all New Yorkers to be aware of that pain" felt by officers after the events in Dallas, and to "take a moment to thank them" for their work.

NYPD officials said the department was monitoring about 15 threats made against its personnel, often on social media, since the shooting of Alton Sterling, though none had been deemed credible.

Bratton said that for the time being, all officers will go on patrol with a partner, while auxiliary officers, who don't have guns, will be pulled off the streets for their safety.

The mayor said that in light of the shootings, the city "will redouble our efforts to bring police and community together."

And even while Bratton described tensions between communities and their police forces as "a continuing crisis in this country that needs to be addressed," both he and the mayor sought to hold New York City apart.

The city's increasing embrace of community policing, in which officers are dedicated to specific segments of their precincts, is helping to improve trust and drive down crime to historic lows, they said.

Bratton said that more than half of the NYPD's 36,000 officers live in New York, and therefore aren't "an occupying army" in the city.

And in 2015, Bratton said, cops only used their weapons 65 times. About 36 of those incidents involved a "combat" situation, he said.

Such reassurances contrasted sharply with the tone of a Wednesday protest in East New York following the death of Delrawn Small, shot by off-duty NYPD officer Wayne Isaacs. The incident is being investigated by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

That protest, while passionate and highly critical of the NYPD, was also peaceful, though Assemblyman Charles Barron offered words that took on a new meaning following the fatalities in Dallas.

"We've had death by those who are paid to protect us," Barron said at the rally. "If you ignore all of our peaceful efforts for justice, violence is inevitable."

Update:

A second press conference, this time held in the NYPD's Joint Operations Center, was attended by Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

Jeh Johnson, center. Photo by John V. Santore

Johnson said that "high-profile cases" of police misconduct "have a huge impact on public perception of law enforcement," and "represent setbacks very clearly."

Even so, Johnson said he believes that "most Americans appreciate and respect the police officers" in their communities, adding that on a daily basis, "law enforcement [and] public safety works" around the country.

Bratton urged those protesting the police to "take a step back and think of positive ways to correct the issues so many people have concerns about," noting that public safety "is a collective, shared responsibility," not the work of just one segment of society.

"There are a lot of people who are angry and anxious," Johnson said. However, he continued, "just like the shooter does not represent the broader spectrum of people who want change, any police officer who engages in excessive force does not represent the law enforcement community at large."

Asked if there were structural changes that police forces should implement to improve their relations with the public, Johnson said federal law enforcement has worked to "build bridges" with communities around the country, especially Muslim Americans, while Bratton repeated that good policing "all starts and ends with trust."