The NYPD Took Over My Neighborhood
If you want to see what a self-entitled police force looks like -- with little respect for the citizens they serve -- I have an article for you
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I woke up this morning, took my dog for a walk, and found myself face-to-face with something akin to an occupying army in my neighborhood.
This police officer is carrying an M4 rifle. The M4 is an assault rifle that is used extensively by the United States Army. This officer also has several extra clips of ammunition tucked in his bulletproof vest.
Here’s this officer with a few of his buddies. All but one are also carrying M4 rifles.
A few blocks over I came across this vehicle.
I thought it was an armored Humvee, but according to a commentator on Twitter, it’s more likely a Lenco Bear Cat, a vehicle primarily used by SWAT teams.
Besides the literally hundreds of police officers hanging out on street corners, sidewalks, and in the middle of the street there were police horses and even a helicopter that flew over the scene.
At this point, you might be wondering the reason for this extraordinary show of quasi-military force by the NYPD.
A funeral.
Charles “Chucky” Scholl lived in my Brooklyn neighborhood his entire life and was a New York City police officer for 41 years. He rose to the rank of NYPD Chief of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South. School retired in 2020 and passed away suddenly last week.
Scholl didn’t die in the line of duty. He died of natural causes and he was retired.
Yet, not only did the NYPD bring out the heavy firepower for his funeral … they completely inconvenienced the neighborhood.
Here’s the view six blocks away from the church where the funeral was held.
No local resident was allowed to park their car over this entire stretch of Court Street, a major transportation artery in Brooklyn.
Here’s a side street from the church. The NYPD towed every car parked here … beginning at midnight.
This is a street parallel to Court St. Over approximately four blocks of this street, the NYPD toward every car. By my estimation, the NYPD cleared automobiles from as many as a dozen blocks on Wednesday morning.
But you’re probably wondering why cars are still parked here — like this one, which is taking up half the sidewalk.
That’s a personal car of a member of the NYPD.
Yup, that’s right, dozens of cars in my Brooklyn neighborhood were moved so police officers could park their vehicles and attend the funeral.
Apparently, it’s more important for a police surgeon to drive to Chucky Scholl’s funeral than for a taxpaying citizen to park their car in the neighborhood where they live (keep in mind the church is about a five-minute walk from two different subway stops).
Besides the ones who got to drive in there were hundreds of other cops on the streets … many in deep mourning over the loss of their brother in arms.
If you want to know what a culture of police entitlement looks like — this is it. The complete lack of concern for how the actions of law enforcement officials affect the people who live in the neighborhoods where they serve is practically stupefying. Having lived in New York for more than 20 years I’ve seen so many examples of this kind of entitled, near-lawless behavior by police. That includes everything from cop cars running red lights, blocking crosswalks, and parking in bike lanes, to my favorite, stopping a police vehicle in the middle of the street to investigate an accident but making no effort to move the car out of of the way as it slows down traffic and inconveniences fellow drivers.
I have no issue with the police having a funeral for an honored and revered member of the force — especially one who rose the leadership ranks. I have no problem with dozens, even hundreds of cops turning out.
But taking over a neighborhood, bringing in military-style weaponry, towing residents' cars, closing off streets for hours, and disrupting local businesses and patterns of life, all for the benefit of the police, is remarkably disrespectful. I did ask the M4 toting police officer above why he needed such a high-caliber weapon for a funeral. He told me “no comment” and said, “have a nice day.” Another friend asked a higher-ranking police official, who said they were protecting dignitaries.
Uh-huh …
In moving cars early in the morning NYPD tow trucks set off countless car alarms, which woke me up, along with many other local residents. There is, not surprisingly, limited parking in my urban neighborhood so if you own a car, there were limited options for avoiding getting towed. The signs informing residents that they couldn’t park on Wednesday (which are still up, thus sowing further confusion) only popped up the day before and gave no time frame for when parking would be restricted or even why.
The NYPD budget is close to $11 billion. I can’t even imagine the cost of overtime and lost manpower that this funeral cost taxpayers. Keep in mind that right now, the Mayor (a former police officer) is proposing to cut $215 million from the budget for city schools.
To be sure, New York police have a difficult job, and many put their lives on the line to protect city residents. They demand to be treated with respect. But that is a two-way street, and stunts like what happened in my neighborhood this morning make it awfully difficult to give the police the respect they say they deserve.
And per my assumption … they didn’t clean this up
As a fellow New Yorker, I find this beyond depressing. The NYPD should be audited yearly. The budget is beyond obscene. As someone who's lived there for 30+ years, I've never seen this show of arms and takeover for a funeral. It seems we've allowed the city to become a police state. Shame on all of us.
I live near the medical examiner in Boston and the police love to block and sound sirens and fly helicopters any time any law enforcement person dies in the state. I envision the overtime and helicopter cost every time