NYPD Deputy Inspector Richard Brea, who spent nearly 30 years on the force, has resigned today, saying his bosses have not provided proper guidance on how to combat crime in the city upon the disbanding and reassigning of its plain-clothes anti-crime unit.
“How am I supposed to lead?” Brea told Guardian Angels head Curtis Silwa. “I’m doing this and others may be following in my footsteps.”
Shootings in the city have skyrocketed during the first three weeks of June. The city has recorded 125 shootings in that time, more than double the number from the same time period last year. Incidents of shootings included those occurring at house parties, barbecues, dice games, as well as “coldly calculated street executions,” according to the The New York Times.
Plain clothes anti-crime units traditionally patrol for individuals believed to be carrying illegal guns. They were disbanded last week under pressure for the city to reform its policing policies.
“We’re not going back to the bad old days when there was so much violence in the city,” said NYC’s Mayor Bill de Blasio, “nor are we going back to the bad old days where policing was done the wrong way and, in too many cases, police and community could never connect and find that mutual respect.”
It’s unclear whether anyone is heeding the Mayor’s words however, as 38 people have been shot over a 72-hour period. There were 166 murders through June 21, an increase of 134 from the same period last year.
“I have been studying this for a long time. I have never seen that much of an increase ever,” said John Jay College professor Christopher Herrmann who analyzes crime statistics for the NYPD.