New York City is so riddled with crime these days that even their cops are getting robbed.
One driver in Queens went into a rage Wednesday when he got a traffic ticket, prompting him to steal the summons machine from a traffic officer and slap him, according to the New York Post.
Mark Garrido, who is 29 years old, hit the 56-year-old uniformed officer, who ticketed his SUV, in the hand and nabbed the machine after a verbal altercation, then jumped into the SUV and drove away.
He was arrested Friday morning and now faces charges of third-degree robbery and second-degree assault.
The incident took place outside of a Taco Bell, per QNS. Garrido reportedly parked his car illegally outside of the restaurant.
A surveillance image showed Garrido wearing a black sweatshirt and sweatpants, as well as a black baseball cap and blue and white sneakers.
Crazed driver smacks, then robs NYC traffic enforcement agent in broad-daylight attack: cops https://t.co/cIPCGxJnim
The 56-year-old uniformed agent was working on 63rd Drive near Queens Boulevard around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday when Mark Garrido, 29, confronted him for ticketin…
— Grand Master B (@GrandMaster_B79) December 20, 2024
This incident reveals just how severe the crime problem in New York City has become.
Can NYC fix its crime problem without electing a MAGA-style, tough-on-crime mayor and city council?
Yes: 2% (3 Votes)
No: 98% (171 Votes)
Starting around the time of the Black Lives Matter riots a few years ago, most major cities in America saw violent and property crime rates start to increase.
Amid all of the social activism, the police were facing intense scrutiny from leftists, leading some cities to flirt with or even implement schemes to defund police.
Now the damage has been done.
With the police subdued and criminals emboldened, those willing to disrupt law and order have less of a reason than ever to avoid committing offenses.
This extends from the homeless population and opportunistic looters to the everyday irate citizen who snaps at a cop after trying to pick up a Taco Bell order.
The only remedy to mass chaos is the renewal of order.
But perhaps New York City is now on that trajectory.
Two years ago, New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul shockingly came within a few percentage points of being unseated by now-former New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin.
More recently, President-elect Donald Trump picked up 95,000 votes in New York City relative to the 2020 election, while Democrats lost half a million, per The New York Times.
Law and order, more than anything else, is not a question of whether local, state, and federal agencies have the ability or resources to enforce the law, but a question of whether their people and leadership can muster the political will to have a sane and functioning society.
If the Big Apple wants to take a bite out of crime, that is the only path forward.
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