The NYPD has better things to do than make sure its members are not spreading a pandemic by wearing masks, the department said Thursday in a response to media inquiries about why police, including brass, are routinely seen without face coverings despite a state requirement.
“Perhaps it was the heat. Perhaps it was the 15-hour tours, wearing bullet-resistant vests in the sun. Perhaps it was the helmets,” said the department’s press office in a statement, when asked about ample photographs of unmasked officers taken in recent weeks.
“With everything New York City has been through in the past two weeks and everything we are working towards together, we can put our energy to a better use.”
Many images predate the police brutality protests that began May 28 — with cops being seen mask-less even as they arrested people for social-distancing violations.
Under an executive order signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, all New Yorkers are required to cover their mouths and noses when heading into situations where social distancing isn’t possible — such as the people-packed George Floyd protests at which several cops have gone bare-faced.
Benjamin Tucker, the department’s first deputy commissioner, gave a similar list of excuses for the officers — including the tone-deaf “maybe they can’t breathe” — during a City Council hearing earlier this week, when grilled by pols over cops flouting the rule they enforce on everyday New Yorkers.
In that hearing, Tucker sidestepped a question about what discipline, if any, awaits cops who don’t cover their faces without a valid excuse.
Councilman Donovan Richards, who chaired that hearing, again took the mask-less cops to task on Thursday.
“It doesn’t make sense,” Richards (D-Queens) told The Post. “We’ve lost police officers to COVID. We’re not out of the woods. What is the message that you’re sending to the public?
“This is why people are out marching,” continued Richards. “The people enforcing the law won’t even follow it.”
Added Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan), “The NYPD refusing in large numbers to wear masks is disrespectful to their fellow New Yorkers, and calls into question how seriously rank-and-file officers take directives from City Hall.
“The Mayor has said many times cops should wear masks, and that they continue to largely ignore that reflects poorly on both the administration and the NYPD.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has ripped cops for not wearing masks only to see nothing change, like Tucker rattled off a list of potential excuses during a Thursday press briefing.
“Let’s be fair, there are times where if you’re drinking water or if you’re giving instructions to a group of people, there are times where it is appropriate to take off a mask, if you’re not within six feet of anyone. There are definitely exceptions,” he said. “But overwhelmingly people need to have face masks on. Every single public servant, that includes our police officers.”
Hizzoner yet again vowed departmental repercussions for cops who blow off the order.
“The commissioner [Dermot Shea] has made it very clear in his directives to officers that they have to do this,” he said. “It’s a matter of discipline if people don’t.”
The man who issued the statewide mandate reiterated Thursday that cops should mask up, but also deferred to their respective departments.
“It’s up to every police department to discipline, decide what is subject to discipline or not,” said Cuomo in an Albany press briefing. “My advice is every cop should be wearing a mask. … Some of them say they can’t breathe as well, it blocks their vision. I understand that, but my advice, [the] health commissioner’s advice is wear a mask.
“And I think every police department should communicate that to the police.”
Police sources, meanwhile, offered their own explanations for why they choose to go bare-faced.
“Yeah a lot of us don’t wear it. Even the civilians are complacent,” said one insider, referring to civilian NYPD employees.
“We carry it but it’s whatever,” added the source, explaining that they started out wearing the gear, but stopped after seeing fellow Finest mask-less and feeling out of place.
Another source said they took their lead not from other cops, but their mother.
“I just don’t believe that it is that big of a pandemic,” said the source, of the plague that as of Thursday evening had killed more than 420,000 worldwide, over 113,000 in the US and nearly 25,000 in New York State.
“My mom’s 74 years old, and she doesn’t wear one,” said the source. “She’s a nurse, so I trust her.”
The same source said that they were also following the example of the commander in chief, who famously refuses to mask-up.
“Trump doesn’t wear one,” the source said. “He’s the President of the United States.”
Additional reporting by Craig McCarthy and Amanda Woods