Comments on: Police in formation in NYC

Question: Police in formation in NYC

beachhead2 — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:07:08 -0800

We were recently in NYC on vacation. We were staying in the Battery Park area and on two separate occasions, witnessed long lines of police cars with their lights flashing, occasionally "beeping" their sirens. They almost seemed to be in parade formation, traveling on the West Side highway, going quickly. Does anyone know what we were seeing?

The bartender in a local bar (decorated in much police and fireman stuff) said it was a more than daily occurance, but didn't know specifically if there was a purpose.

By: pg

pg — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:10:05 -0800

I always assumed they were police funerals.

By: jourman2

jourman2 — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:11:17 -0800

something like this or this? They do it randomly as a show of force or something.

By: jourman2

jourman2 — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:16:20 -0800

Here's an article that discusses the NYPD "surges".

By: invitapriore

invitapriore — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:20:00 -0800

Was just about to pop in and say show of force, but it's been covered. jourman2 got it.

By: overhauser

overhauser — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:37:39 -0800

I always thought they were escorts for foreign diplomats, or government big wigs.

By: JohnnyGunn

JohnnyGunn — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 19:42:46 -0800

Jourman's article is a great link. They are called the Hercules force. They are used to randomly show up in locations with an enormous display of strength. They will appear all over Manhattan at anytime. The message is that the people are safe and terrorists beware.

I have a buddy who worked for the NYPD until this year. He insisted that this display of muscle was a powerful deterrent and helped reduce everyday petty crime as well. I highly doubt that part.

You see them most downtown near the trade center site and in midtown near various embassies and the UN.

By: blaneyphoto

blaneyphoto — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 20:14:40 -0800

I know exactly what you're referring to. I worked at a museum in Battery Park for a few years and its just a weekly drill.

By: Mach5

Mach5 — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 20:26:33 -0800

I saw this in bryant park a few months ago too. One policewoman said the kids love it.

By: frogan

frogan — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 21:00:48 -0800

He insisted that this display of muscle was a powerful deterrent and helped reduce everyday petty crime as well. I highly doubt that part.

Broken windows theory

Malcolm Gladwell on New York City crime and the broken windows theory

By: thejoshu

thejoshu — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 05:51:56 -0800

Previously on AskMe.

By: TheOnlyCoolTim

TheOnlyCoolTim — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 08:47:58 -0800

The funny part is that if they wanted to stop petty crime on the streets they could do that by getting out of their cars for once.

Everyone I know feels a little uneasy if they see NYPD officers walking down the sidewalk. It's so out of place that it feels like something's going down. Meanwhile, I can walk down the sidewalk at night and dudes will offer to sell me weed, which doesn't bother me though I'm not buying. I'm quite sure their activities are not curtailed by a big police parade.

By: Mikey-San

Mikey-San — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 10:01:13 -0800

Everyone I know feels a little uneasy if they see NYPD officers walking down the sidewalk. It's so out of place that it feels like something's going down.

I live in Brooklyn and work in Manhattan, and I see cops on the streets all the time. Unless there are tons in a given area, it doesn't seem out of place to me.

By: meehawl

meehawl — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 10:02:41 -0800

They do this several times a week outside where I work: 1 New York Plaza and the Staten Island Ferry building. I'd like to think ithat this massive display of parallel parking force is lowering the rate of white collar crime in all the nearby banks, but I have my doubts.

By: TheOnlyCoolTim

TheOnlyCoolTim — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 10:03:17 -0800

I see them maybe standing on the sidewalk, within twenty feet of their car. Have to be close by in case they need to do one of these parades, I guess. Walking around? Not so much. Could be a function of neighborhood (East Village.)

By: beachhead2

beachhead2 — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 10:21:18 -0800

Alone the same lines as CoolTim, my husband was offered weed almost every time he went into Washington Square Park, mostly during the day. I imagine if someone wanted to bust these guys, it wouldn't be very hard.

By: dhartung

dhartung — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 13:32:07 -0800

When I was in NYC 20 years ago (*momentarily feels old*) we always assumed the dealers in Washington Square Park were cops, or informants. Either that, or the police district is all mobbed up.

By: TheOnlyCoolTim

TheOnlyCoolTim — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 14:12:10 -0800

I know a guy who used to buy his drugs at Washington Square Park. As I said, I'm not buying, but what I've heard about the Washington Square Park guys is that they're shady, but they are drug dealers.

By: yeti

yeti — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 16:07:49 -0800

Not to continue the tangent, but Washington Square Park is known for it's undercover cops.

On topic, I've wondered about those parades too. Last saw one at Grand Army Plaza.

By: dantekgeek

dantekgeek — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 03:21:43 -0800

I was in NYC a few weeks ago and wondered about this exact thing. Seems pretty silly to me, but then again, so does everything about airport security and the whole culture of fear.

On the other hand, maybe these charges are just an excuse to get cops from one end of the city to the other– for no particular reason other than they have misc. business there– without having the follow normal traffic regulations.

By: nevercalm

nevercalm — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:08:27 -0800

If you're looking to see this, hang around Times Square. My wife works in the area, and says it happens every day, often several times.

I wonder what the NYPD gas budget is for these pointless shows of force?