Nothing to Report (25 page)

“Once again the men and women of the police department were let down b
y
its gutless and spineless leaders at One Police Plaza,” Lt. A. explained. “When the contingent of men from the 120
th
arrived at the famous arch i
n
Washington Square Park, they were ordered by the captain of the detail t
o
stand at ease and relax until the men from the other precincts arrived
.
Sergeant Red O’Hara was in charge from the 120
th
.”

Both Frank and John had a great deal of respect for Sgt. O’Hara. He was
a
good, hardworking boss who knew the book but was also street-wis
e
and would stick by his men if they were in the right.

The first thing Frank and John noticed was that the demonstrators were arriving and milling around, apparently waiting for thei
r
re-enforcements. Each demonstrator wore a football type of helmet and carried a camera around his neck. It was clear that this demonstration was marked for violence and maximum media exposure.

It seemed kind of strange that what was about to happen i
n
Washington Square Park would somehow be construed by a certain part of the population as part of the war effort. These demonstrators, some o
f
whom had good intentions and wanted to end all the killing in Vietnam
,
would be seen as heroes because they refused to go to war. Some burne
d
their draft cards in a symbolic gesture while others fled to the safety behin
d
our northern neighbor known as Canada.

Most of the other participants were professional agitators whose onl
y
mission was to destroy property and hurt innocent bystanders. Afterward they could the
n
place the blame squarely on the shoulders of the police department.

Nineteen sixty-eight and nineteen sixty-nine saw many events that woul
d
affect future relationships of both generations. In nineteen sixty-eight, Martin Luthe
r
King Jr. was assassinated and Senator Eugene McCarthy ran for president, basin
g
his entire platform on anti-war issues.

For Frank and John, as well as other members of the force, the inciden
t
that touched home the most was the student take-over at Columbia University.

It was during this event that many members of the New York Cit
y
Police department were seriously injured when, after days of negotiatio
n
between students and faculty, the order was given to the police to restore order and reclaim the campus. Statistically speaking, one polic
e
captain was made a vegetable for life when bricks hurled by student
s
rained down on his head while over 100 other officers had to be treated a
t
area hospitals. The NYC mounted unit was also assigned to the scene a
t
Columbia for crowd control, and seven horses were injured when th
e
lowlife students threw baseballs at them with imbedded nails.

So the same group that caused the conflagration at Columbia University was now present in Washington Square Park, directly in front of Frank an
d
his partner, John. Sergeant O’Hara was one of the first to realize what was going to happen that day.

“These motherfuckers are going to goad us into attacking them and the
n
take our pictures while we joyously crack their fucking skulls. Well
,
I’ll tell you what we’re going to do. How many men have their jacks wit
h
them?” asked the feisty sergeant. The jack was a piece of steel wrapped in leather on a thong that you could buy legally in a police equipment store. It differed from th
e
police issue of a day stick which was just a piece of rubber on a thong. The jack also had a spring built into it.

Thankfully, every member of the 120
th
had thei
r
jacks with them. Maybe men who worked in quiet precincts didn’t have t
o
carry jacks but if you worked in an A house like the 120
th
, you learned quickly that your very life depended on it.

“Take your jack and insert it into your white glove. If you get attacke
d
and physical force is used against you, knock the fucking guy’s teet
h
out then fall down and go sick. If the fucking brass in city hall an
d
headquarters can’t back us up, we’ll go sick and make them pay throug
h
their fucking teeth,” said Sergeant O’Hara with a grin.

The chief inspector in charge of the entire detail could be seen givin
g
instructions to the captains and lieutenants who soon would approach th
e
men and render them the same instructions. After a while it was learne
d
that this group was the largest contingent of the SDS ever formed for
a
single demonstration.

“All right, men, listen up! These bastards plan to rush us and try to break our ranks. They intend to rush up 5
th
Avenue, destroying everythin
g
they see,” explained the sergeant.

Fifth Avenue began at the north end of Washington Square Park and the demonstrators planned to break store windows and set fires all along Fifth Avenue. In effect, they were going to start a small riot.

Sergeant O’Hara explained that the police department had gotten wind o
f
their plan through some of the department’s undercover officers who ha
d
infiltrated the SDS. Undercover arrest teams were already in place al
l
along Fifth Avenue. The side streets had waiting buses and vans to carr
y
prisoners to the central booking facility located at One Police Plaza.

There were approximately two thousand demonstrators but only five hundre
d
cops had been assigned. The low number of officers had been chosen intentionally once again by the yellow cowards at headquarters. From the outset, polic
e
were outnumbered four to one.

The lieutenant looked at Charlie with bright, piercing eyes.

“Sergeant O’Hara’s idea about concealing the jacks in our gloves was great. If photos were to be taken, all that would be captured on fil
m
would be a white glove slapping the face of a demonstrator. Again
,
for reasons unknown, City Hall and police brass undermanned the detail o
f
cops in the park that day. This was the administration of Mayor John
V
Lindsey; the police department never was his favorite group.”

Lt. A. explained to Charlie how the demonstrators were very well organized. Their leaders carried bullhorns and each demonstrator carried a camera. Their dress was conspicuousl
y
similar. They all seemed to be wearing tattered clothes and jeans, whic
h
were comprised of bits and pieces of the American flag. They knew just what to wear to antagonize a bunch of cops who were ultra conservative in their political views.

Unfortunately, the police department did not eve
n
allow the standard wooden police barriers to assist the officer in containing the demonstrators. Every cop present that day, from the lowest rookie to the most seasone
d
veteran, cursedthe Police Commissioner and Mayor. The absenc
e
of barriers was to be the “shot
”
heard around the world i
n
terms of the police union’s hue and cry in all future demonstrations.

“At approximately 12:00 noon the demonstrators began walking toward us. Our human bodies were all that stood between them and the edge of the park where Fifth Ave began,” Lt. A.
explained. “Twelve noon guaranteed that the maximum amount of people would be ou
t
on the street, most of them being out on their lunch hour.”

The gait of the demonstrators increased in speed. When the two groups met, there was an enormous collision of bodies. After a brief but bloody encounter, the majority of the demonstrators had broken free and was running u
p
Fifth Avenue.

Frank, John and their group from the 120
th
managed to stop a fe
w
with their dainty white gloves, now soaking wet with blood. The results of their police work could be found sprawled on the ground with bloodied mouths and broken teeth. The arrest teams were busy picking up the pieces and herding the fallen demonstrators into vans for transport to arres
t
processing. Fifth Avenue however, was now ablaze with trash cans on fire as well a
s
a few cars that had been torched by the vengeful mob. Several stor
e
windows had been smashed and the sound of blaring alarms could be hear
d
up and down the avenue.

The arrest teams waiting along Fifth Avenue were plai
n
clothes men and were the officers who normally enforced the gamblin
g
and narcotics laws for the department. Some were also members of the different detective squads from all over the city. These men were not equipped to handle the mob that was fast approachin
g
them.

It seemed to each and every member present, from uniformed officers t
o
plainclothes detectives, that the city fathers would have preferred the riot which was now happening instead of the media exposing the police smashing the heads of so called college anti-war protestors.

“There comes a time, Charlie, when once, just once, you hope and pray that justice could be served right there in the street. Well, believe it or not, this was that day,” Lt. A. said with a smile. “Someone in police headquarters still had a pair of balls because that someone was responsible for ordering the Mounted Unit, our cavalry
,
to act as the backup for that day.”

The New York City Mounted Unit was ahead of the protestors and gallopin
g
towards them at a fairly good gait but the protestors could not dispers
e
down the side streets because the arrest teams were encamped there. Fro
m
their rear and closing fast were the uniformed officers from the park wh
o
were picking up speed with jacks and day sticks in hand. There must have been thirty to fifty horses with riders who had thei
r
batons out and at the ready. The horses were beautiful with their blu
e
and yellow pads beneath their leather saddles and these mounted officers were well trained in horsemanship. Each mounte
d
officer received a minimum of three months of specialized training i
n
every aspect of control with their mounts, which they are permanently assigned to.

As the horses approached, some of the protesters started to toss bas
e
balls and softballs imbedded with nails and spikes at them just as they had done at Columbia University. This was all the Mounted Unit ha
d
to see.

There was an old saying that ran true on this particular day, “Fuck me once, shame on you. Fuck me twice, shame on me.
”


The mounted cops lay into that mob with flailing sticks and cries jus
t
like Sam Houston’s troops who cried “Remember the Alamo
”
centuries before. Within five minutes that group of lowlife scum was lyin
g
scattered all over the street. Their bloodied helmets and broken cameras were strewn all over Fifth Avenue in a mute testimony to th
e
overwhelming street justice that was meted out by New York’s Finest. Then the arrest teams simply moved in and picked up the shattered bodies, a scene which was to be replayed again at the Whitehall Recruiting Statio
n
on lower Broadway in the months that followed.

On this day, the team fro
m
the 120
th
made it back to their command.

It was later rumored that the Commanding Officer of the First Deput
y
Commissioner’s office was the ranking officer responsible for orderin
g
the Mounted Unit to respond on that fateful day. He was called into the Police Commissioner’s office and demoted to the rank of Captain, th
e
highest rank that could be reached by civil service examination. H
e
retired and kept his pension but called a press conference before he did
,
extolling the virtues of the patrol force as well as the lack of suppor
t
they had received from City Hall and the police commissioner’s office.