by Ed Mullins, President
Sergeants Benevolent Association/New York City
Critics of the NYPD and the police community revel in pointing out the injustices they perceive
to be perpetrated by officers, especially against people of color. They talk about systemic racism, but find no irony in the fact that the four NYPD officers shot to death in the line of duty in the past 10 months were truly representative of this city\’s great diversity.
Related category: Blue Line
Det. Wenjian Liu was an immigrant from China, Det. Rafael Ramos was Hispanic and about to be ordained a minister, Det. Brian Moore was a white man from a police family, and the latest casualty, PO Randolph Holder, was a man of color who was born in Guyana and was a third generation police officer.
Related: OFFICER DOWN: Police Officer Randolph Holder
Where is the injustice? Let\’s begin with the death of PO Holder, who has yet to be waked and whose family is equally angry and heartbroken. He was a man of color who made life choices based on a sense of purpose, altruism, ethics, morality and selfless service to others.
His alleged killer, whose name does not deserve to be mentioned here, is also a person of color who chose an altogether different path of greed, malice, violence and extensive crime. He was a predator who thought only of himself as he rampaged through his neighborhood looting, robbing, victimizing and frightening everyone he came in contact with. He was savvy enough to fool an overly lenient justice system into believing in his willingness and ability to be rehabilitated despite the havoc he had wreaked from the time he was a teenager.
