The National Police Association is calling for bystanders to step in and help if they see an officer being assaulted rather than film it for 'likes and attention,' as more than 50,000 officers have been attacked this year alone.
'This year, over 50,000 law enforcement officers have been assaulted while on duty,' Mark Solan, a National Law Enforcement Expert, says in a video. 'The vast number of these attacks were filmed and uploaded to social media in the pursuit of likes and attention.'
Just this week in New York City, a police officer was seen being attacked by a man who tried to choke him while the two tussled on the floor in a Brooklyn Target store - while an looker filmed it and then posted it online.
The association is now offering three 'simple steps' for bystanders to follow to help officers in distress.
The first step is to 'call 911 and give the officers your exact location.'
After that, bystanders are instructed to offer the officer help. If accepted, bystanders are to 'do whatever you can to safely help.' If declined, then witnesses can start to film the interaction, according to the association.
The association claimed bystanders filmed the assaults for 'likes and attention'
The National Police Association is calling on bystanders to stop filming officers being assaulted and instead step in and help. The association has offered three 'simple steps' to help offers, including calling 911 and offering assistance
The advertisement included snippets of several officers being thrown to the ground, including one of a New York City cop being thrown so hard to the ground that he rolled off the subway platform onto the tracks.
It also showed several bystanders cheering while they filmed multiple interactions.
Along with the tweet airing the advertisement, the National Police Association shared a video from the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York (NYC PBA) that showed the incident of a police officer and Target shopper wrestling on the floor.
The National Police Association also shared a Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York tweet showing an NYPD officer wrestling with a Target shopper
At one point the officer appeared to be choked
Although the video has no sound, the video shows a police officer being held down by a shopper in a gray shirt and at one point being choked.
It takes several attempts for the officer to get to his feet while many bystanders continued to walk by or even stop to stare.
'We have a police officer in distress, [and] nobody helps him. Is this the city we want? Has this become normal? It has to stop,' NYC PBA President Patrick Lynch said.
'We need your help. We need your help on the street, [and] we need your help to force our reckless [elected] officials to do their job.'
The National Police Association shared clips of officers getting assaulted, including one NYPD officer who was thrown to the ground so hard he rolled off the subway platform and onto the tracks
Several bystanders did nothing while officers were in distressed
Several clips showed bystanders ignoring the situation or even standing to watch
The FBI reported that 59 officers had been killed while on duty since September 30 this year. A 51 percent increase compared to last year.
Almost 10,000 law enforcement agencies reported more than 60,000 assaults in 2020.
'We are looking at now 59 officers or agents murdered in the line of duty this year. That’s an over 50 percent increase from last year,' FBI Director Christopher Wray said.
'That basically translates to every five days — more often than every five days in this country — an officer is murdered in the line of duty. And that’s totally unacceptable, and it’s a tragedy and it needs attention.'
Almost 3,000 officers were attacked with firearms, 6.1 percent were injured in these attacks. More than 40,000 were assaulted by hands and feet and almost 1200 were attacked with knives or other cutting objects, according to the FBI.
Police forces have been facing staffing shortages across the nation since the start of the pandemic. In addition to low staffing, officers in big cities - like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles - are facing a sharp increase in violent crimes.
Total crime is up 1.9 percent in New York City, with felony assaults up an 8.4 percent this year and transit crimes up a shocking 141 percent in one week.
More than 10,000 burglaries have occurred in Los Angeles since the start of 2021 and motor vehicle theft is up almost 10 percent. LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the increase in robberies is due to the availability of handguns.
'The number of handguns that are in the streets today — you'd have to go back probably at least a decade or more to find this level,' Moore said.
Homicide (17.3 percent) and aggravated assault (5.8 percent) are also up in Los Angeles.
Murder is up shocking 133 percent in the Windy City, as well as criminal sexual assault (81 percent), theft (33 percent), burglary (27 percent), and aggravated assault (5 percent).
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