In front of a small gathering of members of the press yesterday (Aug. 4) at the 122nd Precinct in the New Dorp section of Staten Island, Assemblyman Ronald Castorina introduced legislation that promises to change how the assault of a police officer is defined. Designated as a “Blue Lives Matter” bill, Castorina is urging that an attack on a police officer would be considered a hate crime and heightens the penalty of the charge, as well as changes the class of felony. For instance, a Class C felony under the “Blue Lives Matter” bill would be considered a Class B, and so on. According to Assemblyman Castorina, “The impetus for this bill is a climate in this country and this city and state where police officers are targeted merely because they wear the uniform. This bill also has the added benefit of protecting the public.” He continued, “At protests where people assemble in a peaceful way, unfortunately there are some that are rabble-rousers and they throw bottles or punches or they throw rocks, and they create a chaotic situation and we have pandemonium.”
He went on to say that he promotes the First Amendment rights of Americans, and that this bill would do that as well as protect the police officers.
New York City Council member Joe Borelli also joined Mr. Castorina on stage to talk about the “Blue Lives Matter” bill. Reading a Facebook post from the late Baton Rouge police officer, Montell Jackson, who was killed in an attack after the Alton Sterling killing that happened in the same city — the council member thought that Jackson was an example of an even-keeled person in a time of polarization. Pointing out that he was African American and a police offer, Borelli mentioned that he was targeted because he was in a different group, one that wears a badge. He then went on to state statistics of officers assaulted in the last two years. He made absolutely no effort to explain how they came to acknowledge these states or even what context these assaults took place. Lastly, he explained to all those in attendance that this law would not be taking away from any existing law or any developing or in-place movement, just adding a classification that he believes the “Blue Lives Matter” bill will protect cops.
Up next, after Borelli finished speaking, Joe Imperatrice, a founder of “Blue Lives Matter NYC,” rose to address the audience. Imperatrice began the organization after officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were killed in New York City on December 20, 2014. He told the crowd that he believes that no matter what race you are this [bill] will help you if you “wear that uniform.” He, too, went on to list the officers in Staten Island killed throughout the years . It wasn’t clear why this was relevant since the bill, as I understand it, is relegated to assault (no one else could explain or verify this distinction for me). And he also emphasized that [this bill] is not about “black and white,” which was a running theme at the event. The Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, or PBA, was on-hand at the “Blue Lives Matter” event, as George E. Winkler spoke at the assembly.
Urging those in attendance, plus the senate and the governor to see the importance of this legislation, Winkler, who is a towering man at well-over 6-feet-tall, wanted us all to see the importance of this act and pass it as a bill. Earlier, before the event, Mr. Winkler came up to me to inquire where I was from. After telling him that I was from Staten Island and that my uncle, the late Frank Dudley was a Sargent at the 120th precinct, George noted that he knew him well, called him a “good man” and the tension that I initially felt went away. I then asked Mr. Castorina what was the level of support he had for the bill in the Assembly, of which he said that he hopes it would be widely supported, but didn’t have any commitments yet. He also said that this bill is not targeting #BlackLivesMatter and has “absolutely nothing to do with them.” The organization has had many peaceful events with no incident and “we’re not taking anything away from them,” he said.
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