News from NYSTPBA President Tom Mungeer

NYSTPBA Newsletter News from NYSTPBA President Tom Mungeer Troop C Critical Incident It is not getting any less dangerous out there as evidenced by the Member-involved shooting that occurred on Wednesday evening. Please be vigilant on every call to service you respond to! Trooper – 1 Guy with knife – 0 Choose to play stupid games, you will continue to win stupid prizes. NYSTPBA Members of the Week The Troop C Firearms Instructors for making sure their people are prepared when things go south in a hurry. The proof lies in the numerous critical incidents that have occurred within that troop over the past year. Well done! Vaccination Update The NYSTPBA filed an Improper Practice on Monday regarding the internal edict issued by the Governor’s Office requiring all state employees who interact with personnel from that office to be vaccinated. As we have said all along, we believe this is an issue that must be negotiated before it is implemented. Hermey doesn't want to make toys anymore, he wants to be a dentist Apparently, Dr. Anthony Fauci has a new boss. Dr. Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D., a former upstate New York dentist, has been named the Acting Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is believed to be the first dentist to take the helm at the federal government’s focal point for health research. With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to dominate the headlines, it is reassuring that he is at the helm during this trying time. If you think Omicron is bad, just wait until Megatron and Optimus Prime arrive. No one wants a Charlie in the Box It is reported that 37 of the 57 counties outside New York City — or 64.9 percent — have said they won’t enforce Gov. Kathy Hochul’s mask mandate order, with many citing a lack of resources. Well Virginia, maybe there isn’t a Santa Claus after all Apparently, according to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, a new category has been added to the good touch, bad touch list - “deeply troubling, but not criminal under New York law” touch. Ghost of Christmas Present Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz was recently interviewed on Newsmax during which he flayed Attorney General Letitia James for exposing herself as a biased and unfit prosecutor by promising to go after former President Donald Trump during her campaign and then following through on her word, and further declaring she should be investigated, disciplined and potentially disbarred. While I am not going to focus on the merits of the Trump case, look at his comments and see if you also notice a parallel to another recent case – one that involves one of our Members from Troop T. The role of the prosecutor is not to get people, it's to do justice. She is not in the justice business. She is in the political-gotcha business. She is so undignified. She brings the law into contempt and people, when they see her make statements like that, say, 'this is not the law; this is just political weaponization.' And that's not what the district attorney or an attorney general should be doing.' You cannot allow the criminal justice system to become weaponized for political purposes. And I'll tell you, Letitia James is, for me, the paradigm: the most extreme case of obvious bias by a prosecutor. She ought to be investigated by the bar association, and she ought to be seriously disciplined, if not disbarred. No lawyer should be doing and saying what she is saying about a potential defendant in either a civil or criminal case. And when you have a prosecutor who ran — ran! — on the platform, 'I'm going to be a pain in the rear end; he's going to know my name; I'm going to get him' — that's not the way prosecution ought to work. This is a disgrace to the legal system. She ought to be disciplined and disbarred for using her office to settle political scores and to get herself reelected. Island of Misfit Toys The New York State Parole Board continues to disappoint as evidenced by their most recent travesty of justice - their decision to release the 23rd cop killer in under two years. Darryl Jeter was quietly released from prison earlier this month after serving 36 years for the 1984 murder of New York City Transit Police Officer Irma Lozada, age 25. She was the first female police officer to die in New York City in the line of duty. Heat Miser In October, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Director of Energy and Environmental Analysis Carl Mas gave a presentation to the 22-member Climate Action Council regarding what he deems the detrimental environmental and health effects of burning wood. The Climate Action Council is in the midst of a year-long study of how to achieve the goals of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), mandating the state achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The writing on the wall seems to indicate that the home heating sources that many of us have relied upon our entire lives - wood stoves, pellet stoves and fireplaces – may become an endangered species. Which segues to… Quote of the Week - II Has anyone at the council reached out to, or even considered, the estimated hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, the vast majority of whom live in upstate and rely on wood to heat their home, to gauge their thoughts and concerns about this potential proposal?....Before Albany rushes forward with potential new mandates on the use of wood for home heating – mandates that would appear to target upstate – the Council should carefully consider the potential negative impact of such a proposal on family budgets. - Sen. Daphne Jordan, whose district includes Columbia County and part of Rensselaer, Saratoga and Washington counties. Ghost of Christmas Future New York City social worker and self-described “climate organizer” Illapa Sairitupac is running for the NYS Assembly in a district that includes the Lower East Side, Chinatown and the Financial District. His candidacy is endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America. He states that he is “someone who knows how it is to be at the mercy of capitalism.” He adds, “I think it would be pretty poetic and pretty great if a socialist represented Wall Street.” Elections have consequences and next November will probably be one of the most important of our lifetimes. Quote of the Week - III Once Eric Adams becomes mayor, he needs to have a sober sit-down with the city’s district attorneys — and read them the Riot Act. Incoming Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has already posted a laundry list of crimes he won’t prosecute. Adams should make clear that tolerating lawlessness will have consequences for any of the DAs — look at [San Francisco DA Chesa] Boudin. Fact is, deterrence matters. Criminals are opportunists; if they aren’t deterred, they’ll take advantage of your leniency. We can’t have defense attorneys masquerading as DAs. - Joseph Giacalone, retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice Finis On behalf of the entire Board of Directors and the staff at the NYSTPBA, I would like to wish every member – active and retired – a very Merry Christmas! I would also like to offer a special thank you to all those Members who will be working tonight and tomorrow keeping the rest of us safe. This email is an automated notification, which is unable to receive replies. To send a comment to the NYSTPBA, please contact us at nystpba@nystpba.org.

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