Opinion: Anarchy in the N.Y.C.

Some people in more heavily policed areas of the country want to disarm the police. Ideally, they want police completely out of their neighborhoods.

A group called Disarm NYPD wants to prevent the New York City Police Department from killing people. According to the website wagingnonviolence.org, Disarm NYPD “seeks to monitor and pressure police, with the help of local communities and Copwatch groups, until they retreat from over-policed neighborhoods.”

Copwatch seeks to document and prevent police brutality.

The hope is that enough pressure can be placed on uniformed thugs – by documenting their actions – that they will stay away from those parts of the city least appreciative of their, er, “services.” Disarm NYPD plans to “mak[e] it impossible for cops to enter certain areas without a member of the community pointing a camera at them.” A combination of intense scrutiny, protest, and direct action will force police to ”leave these neighborhoods,” it is hoped.

“Direct action” would include confronting police at their local precincts, “refusing to serve police while at work, setting up Copwatch information booths across the street from local police stations, and finding alternative ways to resolve conflict without the help of police.”

Having pushed police out of neighborhoods, Disarm NYPD wants to “maintain these cop-free zones with alternative, community-based forms of conflict resolution.“ As one member sees it, “when [the police] back up, we want to try to fill that space with something that can create new, revolutionary potentials. And we’d like everyone to take part in that.”

“We’re not doing this just for ourselves,” said Jose LaSalle, a Copwatch Patrol leader. “We’re doing this because we want to create an impact on the community and empower the community.”

So-called “progressives” spend a lot of time talking about empowering minorities and the economically less fortunate. It will be interesting to see how they react to poor and minority neighborhoods hoping to empower themselves by rejecting state violence in favor of voluntary community action.

Another group, Take Back The Bronx, created small “no cop” zones where people could congregate and discuss their concerns, grievances, and “common needs” – a concept Disarm NYPD is hoping to expand.

During one such event, Take Back The Bronx set up a banner reading, “If all the gangs in the South Bronx unite, we could…,” and asked locals to fill in the blank. Unsurprisingly, among the responses was, “...get the police off our necks.” Jack McLamb, himself a former police officer, is often credited with saying, “When tyranny comes to your door, it will be wearing a uniform.” For these folks, particularly the young men, this fact is all too clear.

Disarm NYPD also seeks the total disarmament of the police. A member, who asked to remain anonymous – imagine that – said, “We feel that the police have proven that they’re not responsible enough to carry arms due to the fact that they’ve been killing people so consistently for so many decades. We feel that they should be disarmed immediately.”

New York City’s draconian gun control laws will need to be repealed, so people can better protect themselves once the police have been sent away. Best of luck to Disarm NYPD.