Manhattan NYPD Lieutenant Robert Cattani of the Midtown South Precinct feels “ashamed” of himself.
Cattani and four other officers took a knee with George Floyd protestors and then, later on, he wrote an email to his fellow officers apologizing for it. Reported on the NY Post, the email was dated on June 3, and in the letter, Cattani says he felt pressure from the protestors to take a knee and says he knows he made the wrong decision and it goes against “every principle and value” he stands for. In the email Cattani said,
“The conditions prior to the decision to take a knee were very difficult as we were put center stage with the entire crowd chanting. I know I made the wrong decision. We didn’t know how the protesters would have reacted if we didn’t and were attempting to reduce any extra violence.”
Cattani then admits that his true intentions for kneeling were so that a protestor or rioter could see it and would “think twice” about attacking a cop.
“I thought maybe that one protester/rioters who saw it would later think twice about fighting or hurting a cop. I was wrong. At least that [sic] what I told myself when we made that bad decision. I know that it was wrong and something I will be shamed and humiliated about for the rest of my life.”
Cattani went on to say he spent his career trying to “build a reputation of a good cop” but he “threw it all in the garbage.” The article also reports he says he’s been having trouble eating and sleeping and was considering leaving the department but he’s planning on showing up to work every day.
“I could not imagine the idea of ever coming back to work and putting on the uniform I so wrongly shamed. However, I decided that was the easy way out for me and I will continue to come to work every day being there for my personnel.”
As of right now, the NYPD hasn’t commented on Cattani’s letter.
Ebro reacted to the news and said NYPD culture is disgusting.