Mayor Eric Adams on Monday warned the latest batch of new city cops that the system is working against them.
Hizzoner, a former NYPD transit officer who worked the beat between 1984 and 2006, said that when he was on the force, “It was a different city.
“Lawmakers were on your side,” Adams told the graduating class, which included 617 freshly minted NYPD officers and 20 MTA cops. “Judges were on your side. Prosecutors were on your side. The media was on your side. Everyone was on your side.
“That’s not the reality we’re in right now,” he said. “You are under an unprecedented scrutiny.”
But he vowed, “We are going to take our city back.
“There’s a reason your called the Finest. Despite all the criticism, we’re going to stand up,” Adams said.
Mayor Eric Adams warned the new police officers about the ups and down about serving their new role. Dennis A. Clark“When you stop terror, when you stop terrorism, when you stop gun violence, when you stop all the issues that are facing this city, it cascades across the entire country,” he said.
What was missing from the mayor’s speech was any mention of the crime wave that has been plaguing the city for months, one “scared” observer told The Post.
“I didn’t hear about the crime rate,” said Belkis Marcelo, whose nephews are among the ranks of newly anointed rookies. “That’s the problem.
“I know things can’t get solved overnight, and that he can’t do it alone,” Marcelo said of Adams. “But I don’t think he addressed that. I want to know what’s going on.
A new police officer celebrates the moment with her son. Dennis A. Clark
Sergio Ruiz lll, and dad Sergio Ruiz Jr. who retired in 2003 from the NYPD. Ruiz lll wears his fathers shield, during the graduation ceremony. Dennis A. Clark“Yeah, we listen to the news, but he kind of has more insight,” she said. “Of course we’re scared. People don’t like cops. It’s scary. I have two nephews that graduated.”
Adams added to the graduates that they should be proud to wear the uniform but cautioned they will likely get some pushback from crime-weary New Yorkers.
“When you don’t get it perfectly right all the time, they put you on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and try to demonize you, saying you are not suitable to do your job,” he said.
“I’m here to tell you today you are more than suitable to do your job and you would have the support to do your job — but it’s not easy,” he said. “There’s something noble about putting on a bulletproof vest and standing on street corners and running into the face of danger, only to be critiqued.
“But don’t allow the loud noise to displace the energy and spirit that people feel for you every day,” he said.
“Every-day New Yorkers, they want you.”
Additional reporting by Tina Moore
