No ‘force’ of July?
This Independence Day could be all red and white — with no blue.
Two messages making the rounds among NYPD officers are encouraging them to call out sick on the Fourth of July as retribution for police reform and a perceived anti-cop climate, multiple members of New York’s Finest told The Post.
One calls for the job action to kick off at 3 p.m. July 4.
“NYPD cops will strike on July 4th to let the city have their independence without cops,” says the text message, according to sources.
“Cops . . . say we can’t strike because of the Taylor Law,” the message reads, referencing a law that makes public-worker stoppages punishable by fines and jail time. “The people and this city doesn’t [sic] honor us why honor them [sic].”
Meanwhile, a flier seen by police officers reads #Bluflu and instructs cops to call out sick on Independence Day.
“Police officers like you and me took an oath to protect strangers regardless of race, class or gender,” the message reads. “Today we are vilified and must stand as one.”
It tells members to call and request a sick day. If that doesn’t work, officers are told to report for duty — then ask for an ambulance.
It’s unclear whether the messages are being written by cops.
PBA President Patrick Lynch said the “blue flu” has been a joke for generations, but “the situation we are in right now is no joke.”
The NYPD said cops will be at work on July 4.
“New York City Police Officers will be here today, tomorrow and on the 4th of July to protect all New Yorkers,” Sgt. Mary Frances O’Donnell, spokesperson for the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information, said. “To suggest otherwise is false.”