The killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin two weeks ago sent shockwaves of rage across the US, with much of the anger focused on the boys in blue. Rioters and looters burned out police precincts, sprayed “kill cops” graffiti tags, and chucked bricks at riot cops. Above the street-level rage, lawmakers on Capitol hill unveiled a sweeping police reform bill, while Minneapolis’ city council led the way in voting to “disband” Chauvin’s department.

Mike O’Meara struck back hard at a press conference in New York City on Tuesday. The boss of New York state’s Police Benevolent Association, O’Meara seethed at anti-police sentiment in politics and the media.

“Everybody’s trying to shame us,” he thundered. “Legislators. The press. Everybody’s trying to shame us into being embarrassed of our profession. You know what? This isn’t stained by someone in Minneapolis,” he said, waving his badge in the air. “It’s still got a shine on it, and so do theirs.”

“Stop treating us like animals and thugs, and start treating us with some respect!” he shouted. “We’ve been left out of the conversation. We’ve been vilified. It’s disgusting,” he added, spitting out the word.

O’Meara condemned the killing of Floyd, calling Chauvin’s actions “disgusting,” and insisted that his department is “restrained.” 

“It’s not what we do,” he said, referring to the shocking murder. “It’s not what police officers do...he killed someone. We didn’t.”

O’Meara’s passion was tangible, and his union has tremendous sway over lawmakers in New York. However, recent events haven’t painted his profession in a flattering light. Earlier on Tuesday, an NYPD officer surrendered himself to face assault charges after he was caught on video shoving a female protester to the ground last month and verbally abusing her. 

Additionally, two police officers in Buffalo, New York, have been arrested and charged with assault for pushing a 75-year-old man to the ground during a demonstration in the city last week.

While O’Meara did not mention names, two Democratic lawmakers could certainly be the target of his tirade. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has promised to sign a package of police reform laws this week. New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio – already at odds with his police since 2013 over his scrapping of the NYPD’s ‘stop and frisk’ policy – has vowed to slash the department’s funding.

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