New York police officers are becoming increasingly hesitant to do their jobs for fear of hurting their careers, Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, told Fox News on Tuesday.
"Cops are beginning to take the attitude of I got to be careful what I do. I can't jeopardize myself, my future, my pension, everything that's on the line," Mullins said on
Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor."
Police have been under a microscope since a Staten Island grand jury earlier this month declined to indict a white police officer in the death of Eric Garner. That was just a week after a Missouri grand jury did not indict a white cop in the death of Michael Brown. Both Garner and Brown were black.
Protests have focused on police, and two NYPD officers were attacked by a group of protesters over the weekend.
Police unions are upset with Mayor Bill de Blasio, who they say threw police under the bus in a speech after the grand jury decision. They say the mayor essentially accused them of racism while he seemed to side with protesters, even those who have engaged in violence.
Mullins said that as officers begin to pull back, it will have a bad effect on the public.
"Ultimately it's going to spill over into the citizens of New York, and you can see the ramifications of this as it's running across the country," Mullins said.
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, told O'Reilly that many of the protesters are not from the community but are members of the Occupy movement.
"When you work these rallies on a regular basis like our members do, you'll see the same people over and over in each one of these rallies no matter what the cause," Lynch said.
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