Clairvoyant Cops?

Police officers are often heroes, but The New York Times want them to be something else — superheroes. In an editorial Tuesday, the Times accused the NYPD of attacking “peaceful protesters” during recent demonstrations, yet “the department failed to prevent theft and the destruction of property in Midtown Manhattan, SoHo and the Bronx.”

First, not all those who marched were peaceful. Many demonstrators provoked cops on purpose, blocked traffic, refused to follow orders and yelled profanity in the face of officers as they waved banners decorated with pigs.

And while they were having to endure that abuse, the NYPD apparently didn’t have the clairvoyance to predict that criminals were using the distraction of marches to pillage the city.

This plea for superhuman powers extends to the news pages, where, in a story about the horrific killing of a 1-year-old, the reporters write that the increase in street violence may be because “most shootings still go unsolved by the police.”

Well, why would that be? Almost every shooting The Post covers includes the words “the victims refused to cooperate.” A “no snitching” culture is aided and abetted by politicians who say the police department is not to be trusted.

What other way is there to cut down on gun and gang violence? Well, you could stop people on the street you suspect of having a gun — but liberal politicians and the Times have railed against that.

You could patrol the areas where most shootings happen, but they say that’s profiling and harassment.

You can keep a database of known gang members and repeat offenders, which the NYPD does, but members of the City Council want to take that away as well.

In the end, what the Times and liberals in general want is for cops to be psychics. They would solve every crime while only stopping and interviewing the people responsible. They would magically know which person in a crowd has a gun. They would arrest only the guilty.

And then, this city would still let that person go without bail.