New York City police officers have been issued a stern warning from their higher-ups: Either get back to enforcing minor infractions or don't expect to take vacation or sick days, according to several unnamed officers who spoke with the New York Post.
The Post notes that officers are now being ordered to hand in "activity sheets" logging the number of arrests and summonses they issued on their shift.
The news comes after a reported 90 percent drop in ticket writing that has been billed as a "slowdown" to send a message to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The rift between police officers and de Blasio happened some weeks ago after the mayor loosely supported the #BlackLivesMatter movement that emerged after the deaths of unarmed black men last year by white police officers. A number of police officers have been turning their backs on the mayor at recent public events, including the funerals of two New York City officers—Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos—who were shot and killed by crazed gunman Ismaaiyl Brinsley on Dec. 20.
New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton has ordered officers back to work, according to the Post.
"Police officers around the city are now threatened with transfers, no vacation time and sick time unless they write summonses," a union source told the Post. "This is the same practice that caused officers to be labeled racist and abusers of power."
Another officer told the newspaper that enforcing the ticket-writing procedure is all about money. "Everyone here is under orders—no time off," the cop told the Post. "And the majority of [new] summonses written aren't protecting the public in any way. But now they're realizing how much revenue the city is losing and they're enforcing their will upon us."
According to the Post, some cops were ordered not to take a lunch break until they had written at least two tickets. "To have all the manpower utilized for the sole purpose of writing summonses is a very dangerous way to utilize manpower," a police officer told the newspaper. "This is not what we’re out here for."
Read more at the New York Post.