Not a shocking development with the man who has shown antagonism towards the police.

Between the Covid-19 response and the Black Lives Matter protests/riots, New York Mayor Bill DeBlasio has not fared well. He has been a perpetual source of contradictions and incompetence, making confounding decisions and announcements which agitate. Now he seems to have a self-created conflict within his own justice departments.

The New York Police Department has made the announcement that it will be removing its officers from various district attorneys offices in select Burroughs across the city. This appears to be a reaction to area prosecutors who have moved to not press charges against protestors and rioters who have been arrested over the past weeks.

While the police commissioner announced that the move was not in retaliation it does arrive within the same day of the announcement coming down that prosecutors were not going to pursue legal action against those who violated curfew orders. Following decisions in The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens the announcement from the Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance was notably bothersome to a number of police officials in the city.

“The justice system shouldn’t be the first resort,’’ Vance told the NY Times in a recent interview. “It should be used only when necessary, especially for low-level offenses, which tend to fall on men and women of color and those economically less resourced.”

The Commissioner stated that the move was made in order to dedicate more officers to protest control measures. This of course leads to a cycle of futility; more police on the street could lead to more engagement with protestors, then more arrests, and then more individuals to be turned out by the DA offices.

This new stance is following other moves that have hamstrung the police department over the past few years. After being able to crow about the crime dropping on an annual basis last year saw an increase in crime in the city, as well as a spike in the murder rate. This occurred well before the social unrest we have watched play out over the past month, and the antagonism towards the police countrywide.

Now not only is New York City dealing with calls to defund the police force during a rise in crimes but a feud may be developing between the legal entities in town, all of which is lorded over by a mayor who is under fire and no friend of the cops in town. This is not going to end well any time soon for residents who are currently dealing with unrest taking place right outside their windows.