An NYPD precinct commander was given a hero’s send-off by colleagues on Friday after he retired in protest over sweeping police reforms across New York.
Deputy Inspector Richard Brea, who commanded the Bronx 46th Precinct, was treated to an NYPD helicopter fly by, police bagpipers and a ride in a vintage cop car during his farewell ceremony Friday afternoon.
The veteran cop blasted politicians in a speech at the event saying they ‘want to blame and vilify’ officers, amid nationwide protests demanding an end to police brutality and systemic racism following the Memorial Day ‘murder’ of black man George Floyd at the hands of a white cop.
Brea announced he was standing down from the force this week saying he could no longer lead officers in the wake of reforms across New York City and the wider state including a ban on chokeholds and making police disciplinary records public.
The reforms were made following the deaths of multiple black people during arrest or in police custody in recent years and as shocking footage has been widely circulated on social media of NYPD cops violently attacking peaceful protesters over the last month.
Deputy Inspector Richard Brea, who commanded the Bronx 46th Precinct, was given a hero’s send-off by colleagues on Friday after he retired in protest over sweeping police reforms across New York
Brea (center) announced he was standing down from the force this week saying he could no longer lead officers in the wake of reforms across New York City and the wider state including a ban on chokeholds and making police disciplinary records public
Brea was given a raucous send-off from his Bronx stationhouse with colleagues clapping and cheering him as he waved goodbye to his 27-year career at the NYPD.
The cop was seen walking out of the Bronx precinct at around 3p.m. Friday where he was greeted by a huge crowd of cops from multiple precincts.
Brea beamed as he posed for pictures and hugged his colleagues before giving a rousing speech slamming the police reforms.
‘Their blood is in the concrete of every street corner, but these politicians don’t want to remember that,’ he said in his speech, which was met with cheers of support.
‘They want to blame and vilify everyone here. I won’t have that. No sir.’
He added: ‘We have a duty and a responsibility to respect and guide other cops.’
Brea blasted what he called ‘weak political’ leadership that is threatening to bring the city back to the ’70s and ’80s and is dishonoring the memories of cops who lost their lives along the way, reported News 12 Brooklyn.
He also paid tribute to his colleagues saying ‘My 46 family, the Alamo, I love you man.’
The veteran cop blasted politicians in a speech at the event saying they ‘want to blame and vilify’ officers, amid nationwide protests demanding an end to police brutality and systemic racism following the Memorial Day ‘murder’ of George Floyd at the hands of a white cop
The helicopter fly by for Brea (pictured). Brea was given a raucous send-off from his Bronx stationhouse with colleagues clapping and cheering him as he waved goodbye to his 27-year career at the NYPD
The precinct commander then took off in a classic police car to do a lap round the block.
Brea handed in his resignation this week citing a lack of guidance on how to effectively police in the wake of reforms.
‘How am I supposed to lead?’ Brea asked, according to Guardian Angels leader Curtis Sliwa, who was interviewed by the NY Post.
The high-ranking officer says he has not been instructed about ‘how to get guns and drugs off the street’ now that the plainclothes unit has been disbanded.
He is also said to be incensed by a lack of guidance ‘about what his officers should do with fireworks enforcement’ .
Brea was also angered earlier this month ‘that the department had been caught flat-footed by looters’ during anti-police protests.
‘I’m doing this, and others may be following in my footsteps,’ Brea allegedly told Sliwa.
Brea was treated to an NYPD helicopter fly by, police bagpipers and a ride in a vintage cop car during his farewell ceremony Friday afternoon
On June 12, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a package of new bills for the state and an executive order mandating all local governments and police agencies develop and adopt plans to reform local police departments.
Days later, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea revealed the NYPD was disbanding its plainclothes, Anti-Crime Units, which specialized in targeting armed suspects.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio also introduced new plans for the city’s disciplinary database which by July will list out all 1,100 pending internal cases within the force, which are prosecuted by the department’s oversight agency the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
De Blasio and the City Council have said they will be cutting the NYPD’s $6billion budget and moving some of the funds towards youth and social services.
The mayor defended the choice to ax the anti-crime unit Friday saying it was ‘the right one’.
‘The NYPD has a tremendous history of making adjustments,’ de Blasio said.
Brea had worked for the NYPD for 27 years
‘Adjustments are being made as we speak. The choice on the anti-crime unit was the right one.’
New York City has witnessed a dramatic spike in street shootings and killings during the month of June, with 75 people injured in 55 shootings over the last week alone.
These numbers represent a 342 per cent jump in shootings last week compared to the same period in 2019.
There have now been 125 shooting incidents in New York City during the month of June alone, according to the NYPD.
De Blasio said that hundreds of police officers normally in desk jobs would be heading out onto the street as part of the ‘Summer All Out’ program which is beginning now.
These officers would be focusing on the 20 precincts throughout the city experiencing issues with gun violence – specifically those in the Bronx and North Brooklyn.
‘We know when there’s shootings they beget more shootings. We understand retaliation, we understand gang dynamics. And I’ve heard from a number of community leaders that they are increasingly concerned,’ de Blasio said Monday.
He also said that part of the city’s effort to keep the peace would be spending $10million to increase its crisis management system, which focuses on sending community-based organizations into neighborhoods where there are high numbers of gun violence.