International police body responds to NYPD officer murders
International police body responds to NYPD officer murders
International police body responds to NYPD officer murders
International police body responds to NYPD officer murders
The cowardly murder of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu should serve as a reminder, and a warning, to political leaders worldwide that they cannot pick and choose when to support the rule of law, the Chairman of the International Council of Police Representative Associations (ICPRA) said today.
“Our societies cannot function without the rule of law. We do not get to pick and choose when to support it,” said ICPRA Chairman Greg O’Connor. Mr O’Connor is also President of the New Zealand Police Association.
“The Ferguson tragedy has provoked considerable debate and soul-searching in the United States, and indeed worldwide. Tragedies always do, and always should. There must always be thorough and impartial inquiries into any officer-involved death, following the due process of the justice system.
“It is extremely dangerous when politicians – who are the ones who make the laws – are seen to waver from their support for calm, rational due process. Those in society who feel aggrieved at ‘the system’ interpret such words as justifying – or encouraging – them to attack it, whether through words or deeds.
“It is too easy, for political expediency, to join the baying crowd. But tough times call for strong leaders. Instead of focusing on police, those leaders should perhaps be asking the harder questions, about why ‘the system’ they preside over delivers, for far too many of its citizens, the social conditions that breed crime” Mr O’Connor said.
Mr O’Connor also offered condolences, on behalf of the more than 1.5 million officers represented by ICPRA worldwide, to the families of Officers Ramos and Liu.
“All of us who work in law enforcement know the tragedy of losing a friend and colleague in the line of duty. It happens far too often; but none of us should ever accept it is an inevitability of policing. Our thoughts are with the families of these officers.”
ENDS
About the International Council of Police Representative Associations
The International Council of Police Representative Associations is an organisation comprising representatives of police and law enforcement associations and unions from around 40 countries, collectively representing more than 1.5 million law enforcement officers across North America, Europe, Africa, and Australasia.
For further comment, contact:
Greg O’Connor
Chairman
International Council of Police Representative Associations goconnor@policeassn.org.nz
+64 27 268 9400