The chairman of New York’s largest police union is slamming Mayor Eric Adams for ordering straphangers to report officers seen with their cellphones – despite the fact that cops are told to use them while on duty.
On Tuesday, New York City’s Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch fired back at the idea, saying officers are being forced to use police department-issued smartphones to document official duties.
“New York City police officers have not asked for NYPD-issued smartphones — we have been ordered to carry and use them,” Lynch said in a statement.
“We now have to document every minute of our tours on these phones. Every form we have to fill out and every notification we receive comes over the phone.
“If there is a problem with cops using the phone on duty, NYPD management should switch police and go back to pen and paper,” he said.
Adams made the case for turning in cops at a news conference on Tuesday when asked by a journalist about reports of several uniformed police officers scrolling through phones while patrolling the city’s crime-ridden transportation network.
The former NYPD captain warned, “We’re going to start taking very aggressive action to make sure the police are patrolling our subway system and not patrolling their iPhone.”
NYC Mayor Eric Adams has encouraged civil servants to send him photos of police officers seen using their cellphones while on duty patrolling the city’s crime-ridden transportation network
PBA President Patrick J. Lynch fired back at the idea of sending pictures of police officers on their cellphones, saying officers are being forced to use NYPD-issued smartphones to document official duties
Adams struck a different tone in March 2022 when he blasted members of the public who got too close to officers during arrests
The mayor said if New Yorkers send him photos of officers on their phones, he’ll be in that borough the next day to “see exactly what’s happening” — even though cops need their phones for work
Images of NYPD cops using their phones on duty have infuriated New Yorkers as the city battles an exponential rise in violent crime
“If there is a problem with officers using the phone on duty, NYPD management should switch police and return to pen and paper,” PBA President Patrick Lynch said in a statement
“If you see it, send me a picture. I’ll go to that district the next day and see exactly what happens.
“Send me a shot. New Yorkers, you see, send me a photo and I’ll be at the station.’
Adams’ spokesman urged anyone with photos to send them to his press office, whose email address is [email protected].
Adams promised Tuesday that New Yorkers can look forward to a “visible difference in policing” in the coming weeks.
He was speaking a fortnight after a gunman shot dead five people on a Brooklyn subway, amid numerous other horrific crimes fearing commuter safety.
Deloitte executive Michelle Go, who was killed by a tramp after being pushed off a subway platform and onto a moving train in Times Square.
There could be restrictions on taking photos or videos of officers. In March 2022, the mayor slapped members of the public who got too close while recording officials.
He said at the time: “Stop dominating my police officers while they go about their work; unacceptable and will not be tolerated. If your iPhone cannot take this picture from a safe distance, you need to update your iPhone.’
Despite Adam’s pledge to put more police officers on trains, several subway train platforms were recently photographed without an officer in sight.
Although Adams said getting more officers on the train is a priority, several subway platforms, including Brooklyn’s Nassau Ave, were recently photographed without an officer in sight
No police officers were seen on duty at the Graham Avenue subway station in Brooklyn on Wednesday
Adams earlier this year announced plans to increase the number of police officers on subway platforms and trains
Critics claim that just focusing on strengthening the police force to make the city safer is not a solution, but that more investment in mental health programs and other social services is needed
No officers are to be seen at the Myrtle-Wyckoff subway station in Brooklyn on Wednesday, just weeks after a gunman shot dead several people on a subway at the 36th Street station
Adams earlier this year announced plans to increase the number of police officers on subway platforms and trains and to tackle crime more broadly.
He’s brought back a controversial police anti-gun unit, asked for help from the federal government cracking down on ghost guns, and pushed for changes to New York’s bail laws.
Critics claim that just focusing on strengthening the police force is not a solution, and that more investment in mental health programs and other social services is needed.
The former New York City police captain took office in January and has focused on making the city feel safe and trying to bring it back to some sense of normality after the pandemic.
But the latest figures show that crime has increased by 21 percent from the same point in 2021, robberies by nearly 47 percent, rapes by nearly 15 percent and the percentage of shooting victims by eight percent, according to the latest statistics from the Police Directorate the city. Homicides are down 13 percent.
Adams took office this year, focusing on making the city feel safe, but violent crime rates have risen since the pandemic, according to crime statistics (pictured).
Frank James, the 62-year-old suspect in the Brooklyn 36th Street station shooting, spoke about his own mental health struggles in a series of YouTube videos
The mayor was among Democrats who have pushed back calls by liberals to cut police budgets and instead divert resources to social services, and has sought to bring back some controversial police tactics, saying they could be used as useful tools for free past abuses.
Since taking office on Jan. 1, Adams has spoken frequently about policing and crime as the list of scary incidents quickly piled up.
The city saw a series of random shootings, the killing of two police officers and assaults in which a woman – Michelle Go – was pushed to death by a stranger in front of a train.
Frantic commuters were seen trying to run for exits after a gunman opened fire at a Brooklyn subway station on Tuesday morning
That includes the horrifying subway corral earlier this month that shot 10 people on a system that serves as the arteries of New York.
In the wake of the subway shooting earlier this month, in a series of interviews, Adams discussed plans to increase the number of police officers patrolling the subways and suggested installing metal detectors in train stations – a decision that ultimately proved ineffective would lie with the transport authority falls under state control.
Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for the nonprofit Riders Alliance, which represents bus and subway passengers in New York City, said that despite a high-profile incident like the shooting, the subway is still the safest way to get around the city getting around, with road accidents and pedestrians being hit by cars a far more likely problem.
Overall, instead of investigating metal detectors and other ways to screen passengers, New York needs a better transit system that gets more people on board and provides security by numbers.
“It can increase ridership with faster, more reliable transit that reaches more places people want to visit,” he said.
De Blasio praised Adams’ attempts to address both crime and perceptions of crime, saying public safety experts recommend the best way to make the city feel safe is “more normality, more recovery from COVID.” .
Getting people back on trains and back into the city isn’t just a reminder of New York’s resilience, it’s an extra layer of eyes and ears to compliment police officers, the former mayor said.
“The general reality is that NYPD has done a very good job of making the subway safer and more secure over the years,” he said. “The police can do so much, but they cannot do it alone. They need eyes and ears – and the cooperation of the public.”