The head of New York state’s Police Benevolent Association raged at a Tuesday press conference that the media and state legislators were “vilifying” police “like animals and thugs,” despite police interactions around the country being “overwhelmingly positive.”
“We all read in the paper all week that in the black community, mothers are worried about their children getting home from school without being killed by a cop,” New York Police Benevolent Association President
Mike O’Meara said at a PBA press
conference in New York City. “What world are we living in? That doesn’t happen. It does not happen!”
“Everybody’s trying to shame us. Legislators. The press. Everybody’s trying to shame us into being embarrassed of our profession. You know what? This isn’t stained by someone in Minneapolis,” he said, holding up his badge before gesturing to the crowd of officers standing behind him. “It’s still got a shine on it, and so do theirs.”
The press conference with police union leaders came amid tension in the state. Buffalo police officers
Robert McCabe and
Aaron Torgalski were charged with second-degree assault Saturday after
video showed 75-year-old
Martin Gugino falling and suffering a head injury during an interaction with the duo. Their suspension from the department prompted 57 officers to resign from Buffalo’s riot unit in protest.
O’Meara didn’t reference the incident, but did condemn Minneapolis police officer
Derek Chauvin as “disgusting.” Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of
George Floyd.
“We don’t condone Minneapolis. We roundly reject what he did as disgusting. It’s disgusting!” O’Meara said. “It’s not what we do. It’s not what police officers do. … He killed someone. We didn’t. We are restrained.”
He added, “Stop treating us like animals and thugs, and start treating us with some respect! That’s what we’re here today to say. We’ve been left out of the conversation. We’ve been vilified. It’s disgusting.
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