Dear Patrick Lynch, NYPD police benevolent union head

• January 1, 2015
• civil liberties  
• criminal justice  
• equality  

Patrick Lynch, head of the New York police department benevolent union, recently claimed New York Mayor Bill de Blasio was responsible for the Saturday deaths of two Brooklyn cops who were murdered by a lone gunman from Georgia. Note that the killer was known to be mentally unstable.

Patrick Lynch is a prime example for why even white, middle-age, males like myself now view all police officers with suspicion. My brother is a police officer. They have a difficult job. Yet it’s reached the point that whenever I see a police officer interacting with someone else I automatically put my phone on “record” and walk toward the situation to help ensure there is a record should the police abuse their power. Because we can no longer assume, even in San Jose, CA, that the police will treat all citizens equally.

See also Charles P. Pierce.