Produced in-house by the New York Police Department and promoted across its official social media channels, the dramatic two-minute clip reflects a concerted effort by the nation’s largest police force to engage the public and influence policy through a more aggressive online presence.
The strategic shift has brought criticism from former NYPD officials and civil liberties groups who say police leaders shouldn’t use public resources to advance their own policy agenda or attack other civil servants. But the NYPD hasn’t backed down.
“We want to go on social media and push back on the misinformation that’s out there,” Tarik Sheppard, the NYPD’s top spokesperson, said in an interview. “Because if we don’t, it could cause damage to the reputation of our cops and the work that we’re doing.”
In a post shared on X last week, Chief of Patrol John Chell lashed out at a state judge by name, saying she had released a man he deemed a “predator” who had been accused of stealing a cellphone and carrying drugs.
Instead they want to keep their misinformation uncriticized through intimidation tactics, including letting mid-level NYPD officers attempt to intimidate judges for dropping a case the officer was in dispute about, while also lying about what the accused did and who the judge released, matched with video of a completely different person being bagged by the cops in their home.
Mayor Adam’s election has let the NYPD get back to their Trump era levels of out of control, and governor Hochul is completely involved in all of these shenanigans.