The NYPD is gearing up and getting ready, as the next few weeks have the potential to see protests return. The presidential election and the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court are both on tap to take place in the coming weeks, and that has the NYPD preparing for protests.
A memo circulating within the department says all uniformed members of service should be “ready for deployment” starting October 25. That date is one week prior to the election, and the confirmation of Barrett should also fall within a couple days of that date.
The internal memo issued by New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea reads in part, “We should anticipate and prepare for protests growing in size, frequency and intensity leading up to the election and likely into the year 2021.”
In an interview on “Mornings on 1” Tuesday, Commissioner Shea said that getting everyone prepared is necessary because of the current climate in New York and across the country. “You look back at the spring time, we had many, many protests here in New York City. The difference was that it was coming on the heels of the pandemic, where really there was no crime to deal with. People were inside for the most part. It’s a different scenario now.”
A recent report by New York Attorney General Letitia James on the handling of protests over the summer in New York City said that 2,000 arrests had been made. That number has most likely grown since the report’s release in July, and it will probably continue to grow in the coming weeks.
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