Ex-NYPD Commish Bill Bratton says unruly pro-Palestinian protesters need to face charges that could ‘screw them up’ if they keep acting up
NY Post
Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said police need to hit unruly anti-Israel protesters with criminal charges that would “screw them up for the rest of their damn lives” if they keep acting up as he slammed the city for ending a crowd control practice that he believes has handicapped cops.
Bratton, who served as top cop in the Big Apple for two stints, issued a scathing assessment Wednesday on how the city has handled “selfish” protesters when rallies have gotten out of control over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“You need to get back to arresting these people on criminal violations, charging them criminally and if they keep acting up then they have criminal records that will screw them up for the rest of their damn lives,” Bratton said on the Cats & Cosby Show on WABC 770 AM.
He slammed city and state leaders for widely excusing the alleged poor behavior of the protesters where “nothing happens to them” and stripping cops of the tools to deal with volatile demonstrators.
“Police arrive, disperse them, detain some of them, and they’re immediately let go,” he told host John Catsimatidis.
Bratton said the NYPD should not have agreed this fall to end the crowd control measure known as “kettling,” when police would pen in protesters then arrest them.
