“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”
That’s an all too familiar saying, especially with those who supported the “defund the police” campaign several years ago and now suddenly “see the light” when it comes to taking care of officers.
Remember when President Joe Biden did that? He noted that he was a firm believer in the campaign following the death of George Floyd. Then, lo and behold, he talked about how the police should be funded. But then, surprise! He didn’t follow through on any of that, and now here we sit, with many officers left hanging without the gear or mental health support needed to get them through their work.
Well, now we have another case surrounding Zohran Mamdani, who stands as the Democrats’ mayoral candidate for New York once the race begins later this year. He was recently in Uganda getting married when a deadly shooting in Manhattan took place, resulting in the death of four — including a New York police officer who was on duty.
Upon his return, Mamdani was quick to pass along his condolences to the families of the victims, including the officer. However, many were equally expedient in calling out Mamdani for comments he made in the past, surrounding his belief in the “defund the police” movement.
According to Fox News, Mamdani made clear just what he thought about police officers back in June 2020. “We don’t need an investigation to know that the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety. What we need is to #DefundTheNYPD. But your deal with [New York City mayor] uses budget tricks to keep as many cops as possible on the beat. NO to fake cuts — defund the police.”
He also demanded that they be “dismantled” because of the public outcry over the death of Floyd.
All this misery. All for money. In the last budget, the City Council tried to make the NYPD reduce its overtime budget by half. They simply refused. There is no negotiating with an institution this wicked & corrupt. Defund it. Dismantle it. End the cycle of violence.
But now? Call it a convenient change of conscience.
“I will not defund the police. I will work with the police because I believe the police have a critical role to play in public service, public safety,” he said recently.
Sure. I believe him. Just as much as I believe there’s oceanfront property in Arizona.
Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who’s set to run as an independent during the mayoral race later this year, minced no words regarding Mamdani’s mixed messaging following the devastating Manhattan shootings.
“Who would want to work for a mayor who basically called — not basically — did call the police officers racists? I think he would aggravate what is already a bad situation. And I don’t think he understands the importance of the NYPD and the importance of public safety,” Cuomo noted on a recent episode of CNN’s The Arena.
Exactly. He can back up as much as he wants but the words are there. The passion to “defund the police” is more present than ever before. And I can’t help but think that if he does end up mayor, he could do devastating damage to the NYPD — which, by the way, has already seen a great deal of damage done by Eric Adams and Kathy Hochul. Don’t even get me started on what they’ve done to our poor officers.
It’s time for Mamdani to shut up on the matter. Talk all you want about how you’re going to support the police, but the action is in the doing. Donate to a police fund, push for better gear and mental health support, do something. Anything. Because talk can go only so far when the words of the past continue to echo. And the New York officers I know and appreciate can hear them from a mile away.
My heart goes out to the New York officer and the victims who lost their lives in that Manhattan shooting. It’s an absolutely scary situation, and I feel for their families and friends.
Enough said. I hope Mamdani gets that point, too.
Michael Letts is the founder, president, and CEO of InVest USA, a national grassroots non-profit organization that is helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bulletproof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs. He also has over 30 years of law enforcement experience under his belt, hence his pro-police stance for his brothers and sisters in blue. Those interested in learning more about Letts can visit his official website.
Image: Zohran Mamdani. Credit: Bingjiefu He via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
