NYPD directs all cops to work in pairs in wake of 'assassination' of two officers; top cop Bratton vows to 'move it forward'
With the NYPD still on 'high alert,' cops will not be allowed to tackle any assignments alone, according to police sources and internal missives sent department-wide.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Published: Monday, December 22, 2014, 7:58 AM
Updated: Monday, December 22, 2014, 11:57 AM
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UNCREDITED/APNYPD Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were killed in the line of duty on Saturday.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton solemnly vowed to "move it forward" in the wake of Saturday's murder of two city cops as the force planned to take extra measures to keep their officers safe.
As Bratton addressed the rift between rank-and-file cops and City Hall, the Daily News has learned that officers have been told they will not be allowed to tackle any assignments alone.
"Effective immediately and until further notice, all foot posts are to be assigned in pairs," according to police sources and internal missives sent department-wide.
The directive also emphasizes that "there are to be no solo assignments citywide" and "police officers on patrol should maintain a heightened level of awareness."
In addition, all auxiliary patrols have been suspended "until further notice."
Speaking on the "Today" show on Monday morning, Bratton said his heart goes out to the families of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who weregunned down by Ismaaiyl Brinsley in Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon.
"We're in a change moment," Bratton told Matt Lauer. "The idea to take out of these crises, find opportunity to move it forward. I think that can happen."
Bratton said the challenges cops face remind him of the hardships New York City battled through in the 1970s.
"My first 10 years were about this type of tension," he said. "Who would have ever thought deja vu all over again that we would back where we were 40 years ago."
Bratton, who received a condolence call from President Obama on Sunday, admitted to Lauer that Mayor de Blasio has lost the trust of "some officers."Some cops turned their backs on the mayor as he entered a Brooklyn hospital on Saturday.
"I don't support that particular activity," Bratton told Lauer. "I don't think it's appriopriate, particularly in that setting. But it's reflective of the anger of some of them."
Bratton also sent a heartfelt message to the 84th Precinct, where the slain officers served, on Sunday.
"They say that joy cometh in the morning, that the darkness gives way to the day, but that is small comfort now," he wrote.
He continued: "We are the thin blue thread that binds New York together, and we shall not be broken. The thoughts and prayers of the Department are with you. Be safe."
Ed Mullins, president of the sergeants association, asked his union members in a statement "to support the families of these two officers, keep them in your thoughts and prayers and to help bury our dead with honor. Each of them, was chosen by a higher authority for a purpose greater than we can understand at this moment."
In his phone call to Bratton, President Obama expressed his condolences and offered federal assistance to the NYPD.
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Obama called Bratton from Hawaii, where the president is vacationing, the White House said. Obama also spoke to Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey, who is co-chairing a task force on 21st Century policing that Obama created in the wake of Michael Brown's shooting death in Ferguson.
Around the country, police departments and union officials are asking cops to wear bulletproof vests and avoid making provocative statements on social media. Brinsley had threatened to put "wings on pigs" in an Instagram post before the slayings.
