NYPD head Dermot Shea reassures synagogue: ‘We will not tolerate hate’
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea reassured worshippers at an Upper East Side synagogue that the NYPD has “never tolerated hate” of any kind — and never will, a Sabbath message delivered amid an uptick in anti-Semitic incidents citywide.
“The message is that we will not and we’ve never tolerated hate and we don’t plan to now, so it’s to reassure that anyone in New York City whether it’s religious, whether it is the color of your skin, the NYPD will be out there to make sure that you can walk around freely and make sure everyone knows how tolerant we are,” he told the congregation Saturday at the Park East Synagogue on East 67th Street.
The NYPD commissioner said his goal was to “reassure the Jewish community” in the face of “a little over 300 hate crimes that we are investigating or have investigated” so far this year.
Through June 20, hate crimes were up 118 percent in 2021 as compared to the same time last year. Anti-Semitic incidents have spiked 64 percent during the same time period — 100 incidents reported compared to 66 for the same period last year, the NYPD said.
Shea told the gathering that some 486 “new guardians” — the newest batch of NYPD cops who graduated Friday– will help turn the tide.
“We have those young officers eager, ready to hit the streets. I think we all know some of the challenges that we have talked about over and over but there is a lot of positives too. So that’s what I’m focused on right now, let’s continue to work, continue to bring the city back and I think it’s going to be, you know, good times ahead.”
And a “great relationship” with the feds — William Sweeney, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office was also on hand — should also be reassuring, he continued.
“I think the simple message for this congregation and for all New Yorkers, the NYPD is here for you,” Shea said.
