Mike O'Meara, head of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, gave a press conference on Tuesday in which he repeatedly, passionately declared that the NYPD had been treated unfairly in the weeks since George Floyd's death and the ensuing protests.
O'Meara, who said that the police currently "are portrayed in the press and everywhere else as the enemy," faced a slew of criticism for hypocrisy, among other things.
“Everybody's trying to shame us." pic.twitter.com/T1ISTiZpEe
— Rex Chapman🏇🏼 (@RexChapman) June 9, 2020
"The notion that police are not investigated and we're some wild organization out there, you know, doing what we wish is just a falsehood...And, that's why I think it's important…because we need people to understand that we are under scrutiny."
"Cry me a river," wrote activist and former NBA player Reggie Miller on Twitter.
"You've been getting roasted for 2 weeks, now imagine the black and brown people their entire lives.. Also are there any black cops in NYC that's support your whining rant, I just see a sea of white faces."
CRY ME A RIVER... You've been getting roasted for 2 weeks, now imagine the black and brown people their entire lives.. Also are there any black cops in NYC that's support your whining rant, I just see a sea of white faces.. Stop👏🏾killing👏🏾us👏🏾and👏🏾you👏🏾don't👏🏾have👏🏾to👏🏾worry.. pic.twitter.com/Diqc5x3Ro8
— Reggie Miller (@ReggieMillerTNT) June 10, 2020
The lack of diversity among members of the PBA present for O'Meara's presser was also noted by congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who said:
"Any New Yorker can tell you that this group does not look representative of the NYPD at all."
"Most NYPD patrol officers are Black, Latino, or Asian American - and the overall force is about 1/5 women. So what's going on here?"
Any New Yorker can tell you that this group does not look representative of the NYPD at all.
Most NYPD patrol officers are Black, Latino, or Asian American - and the overall force is about 1/5 women.
So what's going on here? 👀⬇️ https://t.co/YrUm07pgp2
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 9, 2020
Meanwhile, the internet's sympathy levels for O'Meara and the NYPD, who (in addition to police across the country) have brutalized protestors so often that there is a two minute and 13 second supercut of moments of police brutality just from the last two weeks, are extremely low.
Mike O'Meara thinks the legislature “abandoned" the NYPD... by passing legislation to make it illegal to choke someone. Think about that.
— Joseph Robertson (@poet_economist) June 9, 2020
#NewYork police boss Mike O'Meara is out here whining about how NY police are “being vilified" and how they want “respect" now that the WORLD sees how corrupt & useless they are. That agency is tainted with anti-Black racists who's policy is to racially target & abuse Black ppl pic.twitter.com/IBnSf3Nwy4
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) June 9, 2020
Hey Mike O'Meara-
Where are the black officers?
Did you not invite them or did they not want to come?
I've seen that raging face before. It's always present when you guys are beating the shit out of someone for doing nothing wrong.
Same exact face captured on so many videos. https://t.co/3nlFjFM7sJ
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) June 9, 2020
NYPD Union boss Mike O'Meara says 'stop treating us like animals' - here's an idea...stop acting like animals.pic.twitter.com/FEeczn7mfS
— LiA (@LibsInAmerica) June 9, 2020
NYPD boss Mike O'Meara: "Stop treating us like animals and thugs and start treating us with some respect."
US: Stop treating us like animals and thugs and STOP KILLING US. Respect is earned, and you get NO respect for killing us with impunity.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant! (@mmpadellan) June 9, 2020
In fact, there is also a supercut of all the times the NYPD have used brutality intermingled with O'Meara's speech.
Someone added, uh, visual aids to Mike O'Meara's speech. pic.twitter.com/WxcuduUrOU
— Robin 🌹 Leigh (@robinskyleigh) June 10, 2020
Marti Gould Cummings, a candidate for New York City Council District 7, gave testimony via Zoom in front of the City Council after their arrest at a protest last week.
Their experience pointed to the direct opposite of O'Meara's statements that the police were "acting honorably" in most situations.
The NYPD was quite literally caught on video repeatedly treating protestors like boxing dummies/target practice. If you want respect, you've got a long way to go. Every single officer who participated or stood by and did nothing is a coward. Kindly go fuck yourself, Mike O'Meara. https://t.co/KuJuhAc8Jp
— Michael N (@Asham2Mouth) June 9, 2020
Mike O'Meara is pathetic https://t.co/HpGdk9uEUK
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) June 9, 2020
NYC Police Benevolent Assn Prez Mike O'Meara raged today, asking media to “Stop treating us like animals and thugs and start treating us with some respect."
Sir, that's all Black and Brown people are asking for from YOUR officers. 🙄 #BlackLivesMatterpic.twitter.com/14GqIgW8Ie
— Madam Auntie Kamala Harris for VP! (@flywithkamala) June 9, 2020
Mike O'Meara, what you & "yOuR guyS" do is NOT police work. You all are RACE SOLDIERS pretending to be police.
Police don't racially target people
Police don't cover up for murderers at their jobs
Police don't hide their disciplinary records from the public
But RACE SOLDIERS do https://t.co/dN0mGwIsDM
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) June 9, 2020
Pressure grows nationally to reorganize the police while these shows of pushback on the part of police unions—which are labeled benevolent associations because they are not the same as labor unions—continue to expose issues of racial bias and unequal justice from the police and the discontent and unrest in the nation as a whole.
In an economic recession, people cited a $6 billion budget for the NYPD could be put to better use elsewhere.
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