New York Post

Abusing Cops

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If the NYPD keeps letting loudmouths harass cops, disaster is sure to follow. As The Post has reported, vulgar tirades against officers are on the rise, and cops are ignoring them — based on orders, sources say, from on high. Three videos show cops doing their best not to respond to a rash of obscene barbs meant to provoke them:

“Get the f - - k out of my building,” a cophating moron yells during a lengthy rant at officers. The police simply walk away.

“Tell your daughter to . . . suck this d - - k,” Christophe­r Roman, 20, shouts at cops who’d searched him because he matched the descriptio­n of an armed suspect. He wasn’t the guy, but the officers let him berate them for nearly five minutes before finally arresting him for disorderly conduct.

A man screams profane insults at a sergeant while filming — right in the middle of a police station.

The cops’ restraint is impressive. And it’s understand­able that they don’t want to arrest someone unnecessar­ily, inflame a volatile situation — or risk disciplina­ry charges for overreacti­ng.

But letting hooligans taunt cops is asking for trouble. Provocatio­ns can escalate and end in violence. And who’ll join a force whose members can be tormented with impunity?

Most important: Disrespect­ing the men and women who protect the public is unhealthy on a broader scale — especially when videos of the abuse are posted online.

Mayor de Blasio denounced the incitement Monday. That’s not enough, not when he has signed a spate of laws that aim to handcuff cops and second-guess their actions — and even says he told his son to beware dealing with the police.

In a Post column, Police Commission­er James O’Neill calls the idea of an NYPD “hands-off ” policy “nonsense.” Rather, he “trusts” his officers to make “split-second” decisions and “take enforcemen­t action when appropriat­e.”

Yet the videos clearly show police hesitating in the face of abuse. O’Neill needs to put an end to that. For the sake of his cops —

and the public.

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