New York's finest are leaving the force in record numbers, and it's not hard to understand why. They make enormous sacrifices and put their lives on the line every day for this city, and in return they get hung out to dry by self-interested politicians and denigrated by corporate executives seeking to prove how "woke" they are.
I know all about the sacrifices police officers make for their community. My husband, Jason Rivera, was killed in the line of duty earlier this year, along with his partner, Wilbert Mora. Jason was a rookie cop. We had been married for a little over three months when I got the call that every police officer's family dreads.
The loved ones of police officers are acutely aware of the risk of loss. We accept that our husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters are answering a higher calling, and because they are willing to risk injury and death to help make their communities better places to live, we find a way to accept that risk, too.
But I can never just accept what happened to Jason, because it never should have happened.
On January 21, 2022, Jason and his partner responded to a domestic violence call in Harlem. The perpetrator, Lashawn McNeil, had a long rap sheet and was on probation for a felony drug conviction. He should not have been out of prison.
Instead of being confined to a prison cell, however, McNeil was lying in wait, heavily armed, in a back bedroom at the end of a 30-foot hallway. When Jason and Wilbert approached the room, McNeil swung open the door and opened fire, shooting both of them in the head. Jason died that day, and Wilbert succumbed to his injuries four days later.
My husband and his partner died at the hands of a hardened criminal, but blame also rests with the craven politicians and "woke" corporate executives who are enabling and encouraging a culture of violent hostility toward police officers.
Prosecutors like New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg openly side with criminals, refusing to prosecute certain crimes and letting criminals off easy on others. Bragg and other soft-on-crime prosecutors are currying favor with radicals who see criminals as the real victims. But they're not. My husband and his partner were the real victims. The men and women of New York, who are facing a resurgence of violent crime after decades of relative safety, are the real victims.
DA Bragg isn't solely to blame, of course. The radicals who put him in office—particularly the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation (BLMGNF)—bear at least as much responsibility.
And it's impossible to separate groups like the BLMGNF from the corporate sponsors that bankroll their efforts to coddle criminals and stir up violent hatred against police officers.
Coca-Cola, Comcast/NBC, Gatorade, Levi's, Microsoft, Nike, PayPal, Peloton, and Target—all have given financial or rhetorical support to the BLMGNF and other radical cop-hating groups. Their support of these groups makes them complicit in the attacks being carried out against police officers in New York and all over the country.
These brands are cultural icons. Their support for anti-cop radicals makes it seem as if society itself is turning against the police who risk their lives to keep us safe. It's no wonder that police officers in New York City and elsewhere are leaving the force in record numbers. Why would anyone put their life on the line for people who don't want their help—or for people who despise them just for the job they do?
That's why I'm proud to stand with Concerned Communities for America, a nonprofit established by Black clergy, community, and business leaders to fight for public safety and prosperity in urban areas harmed by decades of crime and neglect. We are demanding that the CEOs of these woke corporations acknowledge and apologize for what they've done, and pledge their support for our men and women in blue and the families of fallen officers.
There are better ways for companies to virtue signal. We should not be promoting violence against anyone. We should be working to heal our divisions, not inflame them. Everyone has a role to play, including the leaders of wealthy, influential corporations.
Dominique Luzuriaga Rivera is the widow of fallen NYPD Detective Jason Rivera.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
