CBS’s Blue Bloods addresses the growing police brutality hysteria plaguing the U.S. by showing an investigation into the NYPD is nothing more than a PC anti-police witch hunt.
In Friday night’s episode “Guilt by Association,” NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) is informed by Robert Lewis (Michael Imperioli) from the Attorney General’s office that his department is to be examined in regards to police brutality against minorities. Commissioner Reagan is not afraid to stand his ground against Lewis.
Lewis: I'm gonna get into it with him now.
Commissioner Reagan: If that's the governor, say hey for me.
Lewis: He just stepped in; he sends his best. Okay, I'll call you after. Commissioner.
Commissioner Reagan: If you need to make another phone call, I can wait outside.
Lewis: No. No, no, no, no. But, um... Just us, please.
Commissioner Reagan: He stays. So?
Lewis: Thank you for seeing me.
Commissioner Reagan: You're welcome.
Lewis: I'm here as a courtesy.
Commissioner Reagan: Holding the door is a courtesy; letting you in here to use my phone, that's a courtesy; but launching another investigation into my department-- not so much.
Dpty Commissioner Moore: What he means is...
Commissioner Reagan: What I mean is let's show each other the genuine courtesy of full transparency.
Lewis: We are opening an investigation into the NYPD's use of force, particularly as it pertains to police actions in minority neighborhoods.
Commissioner Reagan: Well, there you go. That wasn't so hard, was it?
Lewis: I'd appreciate it, as a courtesy, if you'd dial down the attitude. I am here with the full confidence of the governor.
Dpty Commissioner Moore: Duly noted.
Commissioner Reagan: This is a copy of our annual firearms discharge report. It is a deep dive into the use of firearms by every member of this department and all accompanying statistics.
Lewis: Thank you for this.
Commissioner Reagan: You're welcome.
Lewis: But I didn't come down here to pick up papers. We'd also like your personal cooperation on this.
Commissioner Reagan: Why?
Lewis: Well, the relationship between the police and the public is a matter of discord across the country. Now, the governor would like to allay any fears or misconceptions that police shootings in New York City may have bias elements.
Commissioner Reagan: You don't need me. It's all in there. Go crunch the numbers.
Lewis: Being part of a public investigation into NYPD shootings and their impact on minority communities is a win for everyone involved.
Commissioner Reagan: How's that?
Lewis: We complete our investigation, we make our recommendations to the mayor's office, to your office, to the city council, and we all move on.
Commissioner Reagan: No. You move on, pleased as punch with your thousand-page report. I, on the other hand, am left to deal with the fallout.
Lewis: If it's as you say, why would there be fallout?
Commissioner Reagan: Because that's the way it works, and you know it. There has to be fault found, Robert. And fallout, for your investigation to earn its keep.
Commissioner Reagan is not afraid to play hard ball with Lewis. He knows the political agenda fueling the investigation and, with confidence, believes he can beat them at their own game with just the facts.
Later, at the recommendation of Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Garrett Moore (Gregory Jbara), Commissioner Reagan and Lewis have a lunch meet to further discuss the numbers the investigation will be divulging. Lewis tries to warp the statistics by saying police use of firearms occur mostly in minority communities while Commissioner Reagan points out the obvious fact that that’s where most crimes occur.
Lewis: Your own report says it. The use of firearms by your officers is highest in incidents with minorities.
Commissioner Reagan: If you'd look closer, you'd see that criminal suspects are highest among minorities as well... Unfortunately.
Lewis: What are you saying here?
Commissioner Reagan: Just what the facts say. Most crimes occur in minority neighborhoods, so it follows that the highest use of firearms also occurs in minority neighborhoods.
Lewis: Well, maybe most use of firearms occur in minority neighborhoods because most cops are concentrated there.
Commissioner Reagan: That's as it should be; we try to go where the crime is.
Lewis: People of color are three times more likely to have the police use force against them.
Commissioner Reagan: Yes, and cops across this country are "I don't know how many" times more likely to be targets.
Lewis: That's apples and oranges.
Commissioner Reagan: Not to me, not to us.
Lewis: I'm saying it's not a logical comparison.
Commission Reagan: Nothing about this is logical or born of an unbiased reading of the facts. And this is not the first time you've investigated my officers from behind an armored agenda.
Lewis: You're talking about your son.
Commissioner Reagan: I'm talking about one of my officers.
Lewis: Have it your way.
Commissioner Reagan: Well, we're really not in any danger of that, are we?
Lewis: What are you so afraid of?
Commissioner Reagan: I'm not afraid of any investigation into my department, Robert, or I wouldn't be here. But a dog and pony show needs a dog and a pony, and I'm not gonna be either one.
Commissioner Reagan: Okay, so help me understand why the small percentage of your cops that make up the plainclothes units are responsible for more than a quarter of all shooting incidents, all of them in minority neighborhoods.
Commissioner Reagan: All in high-crime neighborhoods.
Lewis: Again with that?
Commissioner Reagan: All in neighborhoods where law-abiding citizens are a dwindling majority.
Lewis: You've got a lot of spin for a guy who prides himself on being a straight shooter.
Commissioner Reagan: Fact: 99% of my cops do a good job patrolling this city.
Lewis: But your department is not perfect.
Commissioner Reagan: No, we're not perfect. But in police work, perfect is the enemy of good.
Lewis: It's the imperfect ones we need to focus on.
Commission Reagan: It's exactly the opposite. First and foremost, we need to support and commend the cops who are out there on the street putting their own lives on the line to keep this city safe.
Lewis: Thank you.
Commissioner Reagan: Thanks, Sam.
Lewis admits his strategy clear as day: focus on the cops who are not perfect. That’s the media for you, folks. Let’s focus on the small, minute points instead of the overwhelming good the police do on a daily basis. No wonder there’s so much division between the police and protesters.
Well, Lewis uses this meeting to expose one takeaway point that makes it to the papers, the fact that Commissioner Reagan admits the NYPD is not perfect. This cheap shot proves a real blow for Commissioner Reagan. At the advice of his family, he decides to point out the printed story was out of context and corrects the facts at a press conference.
Lewis: The Office of the Attorney General has received comprehensive data from the NYPD in regards to the percentage of arrests where excessive use of force is involved.
Grace: Your study is focusing on whether the NYPD is guilty of racial bias?
Lewis: We are looking to examine the impact of force on African-American, Latino and other minority communities and whether that use of force is justified.
Male Reporter: You think the NYPD targets minorities?
Lewis: We are looking at ways to bring down the use of excessive force and the frequency of discharging weapons in minority communities in an effort to make that population feel safer.
Grace: How do you plan on accomplishing that?
Commissioner Reagan: I'd like to answer that, Grace.
Dpty Commissioner Moore: Here we go.
Commissioner Reagan: But first, I'd like to, uh, clear up a quote that was attributed to me in Friday's paper. The NYPD has the lowest recorded level of firearms discharge since 1971. When I said, "We're not perfect," that is true. We'd only be perfect if we never fired a gun, in a perfect world where we could stop criminals with the wag of a finger or a stern talking to. As it is, the most significant fact in the report that Mr. Lewis was referring to is this: That last year, with 35,000 cops on a force patrolling 8.5 million people, there were exactly 35 incidents where an officer discharged his weapon. 35. Go crunch that number.
Lewis: Well, you make it sound...
Commissioner Reagan: I'm not finished. The only way to keep people safe is to enforce laws. And when we start allowing frivolous investigations whose only purpose is political leverage, that's when we sacrifice safety.
Such a strong message delivered about how political investigations can cause more harm than good. Great job, Commissioner Reagan. Thanks for putting that snot, Lewis, in his place.
In the end, Lewis tells Commissioner Reagan an investigation will occur into the chain of evidence inventory. Commissioner Reagan again stands his ground and will deal with the investigation as it comes.
Can we elect Commissioner Reagan to be our Attorney General? Enough is enough. These people need to wake up and realize the police are here to help, not harm.
