CrimeCrimeBill BrattonBill De Blasio

NYPD Arrests Down For 2nd Straight Week Amid Alleged Police Slowdown

Arrests Plunge Amid Alleged NYPD Slowdown
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Senior Reporter, HuffPost

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Police in New York City have made far fewer arrests and issued fewer summonses in the past two weeks amid claims that cops are holding back after two officers were killed in an ambush.

In a seven-day period that ended Sunday, NYPD officers made 2,401 arrests citywide, down 56 percent from 5,448 for the same week in 2013, the New York Times reports.

During the same period, only 347 criminal summonses were written, compared to 4,077 for the same week in 2013, according to NYPD statistics cited by the Times.

Parking and traffic tickets also dropped more than 90 percent compared to the previous year.

The drop followed a similarly steep decline in drug arrests, traffic violations and citations for low-level offenses like public drinking for the week ending Dec. 28

Some New York cops have anonymously confessed to the New York Post that they aren't making arrests for minor crimes because they fear for their safety following the fatal shooting of officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in their Brooklyn patrol car on Dec. 20.

Law enforcement officials say the diminished numbers are the result of a period of mourning rather than a deliberate slowdown.

Edward Mullins of the Sergeants Benevolent Association told the Times that officers have been told to put their safety first. Still, he insists the cops are doing the job to the best of their abilities.

“All of the 911 calls are being responded to,” Mullins said. “The lack of summons activity, we’re talking about financial fines. That’s one of those things that will correct itself, I’m sure.”

NYC Police Commissioner Bill Bratton declined to comment to the Daily News about the decreased summonses and arrests, which were announced the same day that New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that crime for the entire year was down 4.6 percent from 2013.

Rates for murder, robbery and burglary were at their lowest in the last decade, according to WABC TV.

“This is the world’s greatest police department,” de Blasio said, according to the New York Daily News. “It’s been true for many years.”

Despite such public pronouncements, many New York police officers blame the mayor for creating an environment that led to the killings of Liu and Ramos.

During Liu's funeral on Sunday, many officers turned their backs on de Blasio when he spoke, despite being asked by Bratton in advance not to do so.

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Before You Go

Eric Garner Chokehold Case
Spotlight on Sharpton(01 of27)
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FILE - In this July 19, 2014, file photo, Esaw Garner, center, wife of Eric Garner, breaks down in the arms of Rev. Herbert Daughtry and Rev. Al Sharpton, right, during a rally at the National Action Network headquarters for Eric Garner in New York. The city medical examiner ruled that Garner, 43, died as a result of a police chokehold during an attempted arrest. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Rally Held In NYC In Solidarity With Residents Of Ferugson And To Call For Justice For Eric Garner(02 of27)
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NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: Protesters hold a rally in solidarity with the people of Ferguson, Missouri protesting the death of Michael Brown, and the excessive use of force by police on August 18, 2014 in New York City. Protesters marched in a circle, held up signs and chanted rally cries including, 'Hands up, don't shoot!' (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) (credit:Andrew Burton via Getty Images)
Police Chokehold Death(03 of27)
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Esaw Garner, right partially obscured, the wife of fatal police chokehold victim Eric Garner, his mother Gwen Carr, center, and her husband Benjamin Carr, second from left, stand with Rev. Al Sharpton, second from right, as he speaks at a press conference after the family met privately with U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch on Thursday Aug. 21, 2014 in New York. The family of the unarmed Eric Garner, whose death last month in police custody was recorded on video, has asked federal prosecutors to investigate the case.(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Police Chokehold Death(04 of27)
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Rev. Herbert Daughtry, far left, Rev. Al Sharpton, second from left, and attorney Sanford Rubenstein, far right, escort Esaw Garner, second from right, the wife of fatal police chokehold victim Eric Garner, after a press conference about the family's private meeting with U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch on Thursday Aug. 21, 2014 in New York. The family of the unarmed Eric Garner, whose death last month in police custody was recorded on video, has asked federal prosecutors to investigate the case.(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Police Chokehold Death(05 of27)
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Gwen Carr, center, the mother of fatal police chokehold victim Eric Garner, arrives with her husband Benjamin Carr, second from right, and attorney Sanford Rubenstein, far left, to meet privately with U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch on Thursday Aug. 21, 2014 in New York. The family of the unarmed Eric Garner, whose death last month in police custody was recorded on video, has asked federal prosecutors to investigate the case.(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Catholic Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks during a news conference following a multi-faith roundtable meeting spawned by the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who was placed in an apparent chokehold by a police officer, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in New York. The mayor says he believes the meeting can help a city gripped by protests and distrust of the police in some minority neighborhoods. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks at a press conference alongside First Lady Chirlane McCray, right, following a multi-faith roundtable meeting Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in New York, spawned by the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who was placed in an apparent chokehold by a police officer, The mayor says he believes the meeting can help a city gripped by protests and distrust of the police in some minority neighborhoods. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Cardinal Timothy Dolan speaks during a news conference alongside New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, following a multi-faith roundtable meeting Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2014, in New York, spawned by the death of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who was placed in an apparent chokehold by a police officer, The mayor says he believes the meeting can help a city gripped by protests and distrust of the police in some minority neighborhoods. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Iesha Sekou, chairman of the National Action Network's anti-violence committee, reacts during a rally, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014, in New York. The rally was held to address the medical examiner's report which came Friday saying that Eric Garner's death was caused by a chokehold, a banned police maneuver. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Selina Fulford applauds during a rally at the National Action Network, Saturday, Aug. 2, 2014, in New York. The rally was held to address the medical examiner's report that came Friday saying Eric Garner's death was caused by a chokehold, a banned police maneuver. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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Open Image Modal
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Open Image Modal
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Rally Held In NYC In Solidarity With Residents Of Ferugson And To Call For Justice For Eric Garner(19 of27)
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Memorial In Brooklyn For Recent Victims Of Police Violence, Eric Garner And Michael Brown(21 of27)
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Arrest Struggle Death(22 of27)
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The Rev. Al Sharpton, left of podium, stands with Ramsey Orta during the funeral for Eric Garner at Bethel Baptist Church in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Wednesday, July 23, 2014. Garner died in police custody after an officer placed him in an apparent chokehold. Orta shot video of the incident. (AP Photo/New York Daily News, James Keivom, Pool) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Arrest Struggle Death(23 of27)
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Ellisha Flagg, sister of Eric Garner cries during a vigil demanding justice for Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died while being arrested by New York City police, Tuesday, July 22, 2014, in New York. Demonstrators gathered at a park Tuesday, near where police attempted to arrest Garner, 43, on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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A mourner places a candle at a memorial for Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died while being arrested by New York City police, Tuesday, July 22, 2014, in New York. Demonstrators gathered at a park Tuesday, near where police attempted to arrest Garner, 43, on suspicion of selling untaxed cigarettes. (AP Photo/John Minchillo) (credit:ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Farewell to Eric Garner dies after police intervention in New York(26 of27)
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Farewell to Eric Garner dies after police intervention in New York(27 of27)
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NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - JULY 23: People and relatives of Eric Garner, died on a city street after NYPD cops put him in a banned chokehold, attend the funeral ceremony at Bethel Baptist Church in New York's Brooklyn, United States on July 23, 2014. Human rights committees and Afro-American people react to the event as others want peace during the funeral. Garner, 43, died on July 17 as cops tried to cuff him for allegedly selling bootleg cigarettes on a Staten Island sidewalk. (Photo by Bilgin Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) (credit:Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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