More Often Than Not, Cops Lie

Thread. Speaking to reporters past few days. Baffled how head of NYPD could so brazenly lie. In this case about tie btwn "reform" & "crime" w/o data. Answer: bc he can & media still buys it. Even now, reporters asking *me* for data to disprove *him.* Fine:https://t.co/9xe9CUoS0Y

— Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) October 19, 2021

A cop lying? Hoocoodanode?

The New York City Police Department has been railing against bail reform ever since it was proposed, and from top to bottom, they have been lying about the effects on crime.  (Spoiler: there has been no measurable effect)

It appears that when confronted by New York State Representatives who had done the homework, as opposed to credulous reporters interested in, "Beat Sweetening," NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea was forced to admit that his previous statements were a complete humbug:

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea did an about face Thursday on the causes of the city’s seemingly uncontrollable gun violence.

While being grilled by lawmakers in Albany, Shea also had a tough time answering pointed questions from Assembly members representing the five boroughs, CBS2’s Marcia Kramer reported.

It was probably a day Shea wished he’d stayed in bed, or at least not made the long trek to the state capital. Because in addition to switching his story on the cause of gun violence, he had a bout of, shall we say, selective amnesia about an embarrassing case where the NYPD pinned a crime on the wrong guy.

………

It started out OK, but tongues started wagging after Shea seemed to backtrack on his repeated insistence that state bail reform laws are a major reason why cops can’t stop gun violence.

………

Meanwhile, CBS2 obtained a report from the city’s Office of Criminal Justice that throws cold water on Shea’s bail reform argument. It shows that 9.7% of defendants were released without bail for gun crimes, before bail reform was passed. It fell to 3.5% after bail reform was enacted.

………

The Assemblywoman also grilled Shea about an incident two days ago where the commissioner blamed bail reform as the reason a man police said was responsible for a Brooklyn purse snatching attack on a 65-year-old was still on the street.

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It was a “oops” moment. After Shea talked about it on the radio, red-faced cops had to retract the story because the man they identified as the culprit was actually behind bars when the attack occurred. Asked about it at the hearing, Shea all but took the Fifth.

………

Meanwhile, the Legal Aid Society called on lawmakers to ignore Shea’s calls for changes to the bail laws. It charged that Shea has relied on “falsehoods, fearmongering, dog whistling and other unscrupulous tactics” to undermine the reforms.

Asking police about criminal justice reform is like asking Jack Daniels about temperance.

Relying on police statements to inform your decision is, to quote Nietzsche, "Like the bite of a dog into a stone, is a stupidity." (He was not writing about talking with cops)