A spike in shootings in New York City has left more than 100 people wounded or killed during a nine-day span.
One hundred twelve people were victimized by 83 shootings from June 19-27 in America’s largest city, and at least six of those victims have died, according to 1010 Wins Radio.
So far this year, 503 shooting incidents have yielded 605 victims.
“It has just been ridiculous how it has taken place, because we saw a serious decline over a five-year period and we have working relationships to work with our police department with their community policing,” Brooklyn community advocate Tony Herbert told 1010 Wins. “Now look at what we’re faced with. I have not seen anything like this in my entire life living here in New York.”
The influx of crime comes as the City Council, with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s blessing, voted to strip the New York Police Department of $1 billion in funding in the latest budget.
Violence in the city has intensified since the May 25 death of George Floyd while he was in police custody. The tense relationship between police and city leadership has also sparked a significant rise in the number of officers retiring from the force.
A total of 272 uniformed NYPD officers filed retirement papers between the day George Floyd was killed and June 24, which represents an increase of 49% from the same time period last year.
In addition to the funding cuts and retirements, the department announced the elimination of the NYPD’s plainclothes unit following pressure from city leadership and protesters. Some argue the elimination also directly contributed to the rise in shootings.
Ed Mullins, the president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, said an “exodus” of officers from the department has begun, adding that morale is “at the lowest levels I’ve seen in 38 years.”
“There is no leadership, no direction, no training for new policies,” said Mullins. “Department brass is paralyzed (and) too afraid to uphold their sworn oath in fear of losing their jobs. Sadly, the people of this city will soon experience what New York City was like in the 1980s.”
New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea echoed Mullins’s sentiment, saying that the criminal justice system in the city, which recently instituted a controversial bail reform law that many blame for surging crime, is falling apart.
“We cannot keep people safe without keeping bad, dangerous, people off the streets,” Shea said. “You have a criminal justice system that’s imploding. That’s the kindest way to put it.”
