Work Slowdown…Is That The Best You’ve Got?

In the past two weeks, I’ve watched a flurry of stories about a work slowdown in the NYPD. These stories started a week or so after the murder of NYPD Officers Ramos and Liu on December 20, 2014. It is appalling to me that the biggest news story about the NYPD right now is a work slowdown. In fact, the news stories about two NYPD officers who were shot responding to an armed robbery earlier this week have been eclipsed by the work slowdown stories.

Consider this: If two of your co-workers were murdered because they wore the company uniform, how long would you be in mourning? How long would your company’s revenue and productivity be down? Would your remaining co-workers still show up for work? How many would quit and find another line of work?

Every day, every NYPD officer puts on a uniform or badge that is identical to the uniforms and badges Officers Ramos and Liu wore when they were buried. Maybe they are taking some time to process that. Maybe they are being more cautious. Maybe they are focusing on more serious crimes than traffic and parking tickets. We have seen LEOs throughout the United States being shot at on traffic stops by unrelated assailants who just drove by and attacked them. Perhaps that is going through their minds when they work their shifts.

Perhaps the media, the police commissioner, and the mayor should cut the NYPD a break. They answered calls for service in the moments after two of their fellow LEOs were assassinated. They showed up to work for the next shift and in the days following. Take a look at your own profession. Could you guarantee the same response under the same circumstances? Stay safe.