New York police union offers $500 bounty to vigilantes for assisting in arrests
By
Leslie Murtagh
5 September 2018
In a brazen display of contempt for those who oppose police violence, one New York City police union is seeking to bribe the public to not only accept, but to actively assist, in police brutality.
The Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA), New York City’s police sergeant’s union, announced a new program offering a $500 reward to any citizen who assists a New York City law enforcement officer in apprehending an individual resisting arrest.
The program, named Help A Cop, was created by the SBA, which represents 13,000 active and retired New York Police Department (NYPD) sergeants. Since the announcement, trucks equipped with digital billboards have been dispatched to each of the five boroughs in New York City, advertising the program with slogans such as, “Put your camera down—Become a good Samaritan.”
SBA President, Ed Mullins, held a press conference to introduce Help A Cop and speak about the motivation behind it. “We will offer a $500 reward for any individual who comes to the aid to any member of the law enforcement in the City of New York while making an arrest and someone is resisting that arrest, and they help that officer.” This includes officers from other police agencies such as the FBI, the DEA, the state police, and MTA officers. While the program literature does not mention ICE, as a federal agency, it is doubtlessly also be included in the SBA’s bounty program, encouraging an escalation of the war on immigrants.
When asked by reporters what someone should do to help an officer, Mullins encouraged the use of physical force on the suspect—“Grab his hand or hold him…