SERGEANTS BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION

POLICE DEPARTMENT, CITY OF NEW YORK
35 WORTH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10013
(212) 226-2180 | FAX (212) 431-4280

EDWARD D. MULLINS
PRESIDENT

ROBERT GANLEY
VICE PRESIDENT

PAUL A. CAPOTOSTO
TREASURER

VINCENCENT VALLEYLONG
RECORDING SECRETARY

GARY DEROSA
FINANCIAL SECRETARY

ANTHONY BORELLI
HEALTH & WELFARE
SCERETARY

VINCENT GUIDA
CITY-WIDE SECRETARY

November 16, 2015

Dear Fellow Sergeant:

You would think that after the 9/11 attacks the world would have united to eliminate those who seek to destroy our way of life. Unfortunately -and inexplicably – that is not the case. It is no secret that terrorism has become a part of our everyday lives.
Unchecked by many of our purported leaders, it has caused heartache and fear upon everyone in its path.

We are long past the red line in the sand in Syria. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, known throughout the world as ISIS, is not the JV team, as President Obama described them, nor are they on the run.

They are real – and they are determined to kill everyone who does not share their philosophical beliefs. Although terrorists have downed a plane and attacked Europe and other parts of the world, their end game is the United States and the place universally regarded as the capital of the world – New York City.

As each of us moves forward, take a moment and remember all of those who were brutally slaughtered in Paris. The innocents who died had planned on spending a Friday night dining out with friends or attending a sporting event or a concert.

Sound familiar?

Please say a prayer for all the decent, law-abiding people of France, as well as that country’s law enforcement community, which is experiencing a tumultuous time at the moment.

I strongly encourage you to remain vigilant at all times and remind each of those whom we lead to do the same. Please carry your firearms and additional magazines both on and off duty. Remind each of those we supervise to not become complacent, and to not keep their faces buried in their cell phones. Insist that the station house is secure and that police personnel assigned there are armed at all times.

Should you have any issues or are not satisfied with a department directive regarding security, please notify me or any SBA board officer immediately. A request is also being made to the department for sergeants to receive heavy weapons training, and for such weaponry to be readily available in all commands.

In the absence of leadership, I anticipate that the battle against terrorism will continue on. However, in consideration of all the anti-police rhetoric and failed or inept leadership by public officials, this is no time for us (the good guys in the NYPD) to allow our emotions to take precedence over common sense or to forsake our role for the common good.

Our purpose is and has always been clearly defined. Now more than ever, we need to hold the line for a cause that is far greater than anything else – Freedom. Below is part of a speech from one of America’s greatest presidents. It seems appropriate for each of us to think of his words during these precarious times:

“In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression – everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way – everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want…The fourth is freedom from fear.”

Franklin Delano Roosevelt – Jan 6, 1941

Please stay safe and God bless all members of the NYPD.

Fraternally,

Ed Mullins
President