The NYPD says with the current national climate of domestic, racial and political tensions and violence, officers need to be on alert during early voting and on election day.
The NYPD’s Chief of Department Kenneth Corey wants officers’ eyes and ears open while protecting polling sites. An internal memo was sent to the department’s roughly 36,000 cops this week warning them to stay vigilant.
“We look at what’s going on in some of these online chat rooms, we pickup on that and then we put out these memos just to keep our people alert,” said Corey.
As with all major events in the city, whether parades, marathons or the New Year’s Eve ball drop, the NYPD’s Intelligence Bureau compiles an analysis, outlining potential threats.
This time the department says disturbing conversations in online chats and encrypted messaging channels call for violence against elected officials and voters, along with disrupting polling sites across the country.
Mayor Eric Adams was briefed on the internal police report.
“It appears as though there was some chatter by extremist organizations and groups that gave an indication that they wanted to do something that is disruptive and so the police department was on top of this,” Adams said.
In addition to last year’s Capital riots on Jan. 6, there have been other serious threats and actual violence across the county.
Including in July, when New York’s Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin was attacked while speaking at a rally in western New York.
Chief Corey says there are no known or credible threats against any New York City officials or voting sites.
And as in all major elections here, cops are assigned to voting locations. This year, that’s over eleven hundred polling sites across the five boroughs.
“There is going to be a police officer there at all times while it is open,” explained Corey. “People are going to be safe when they go out to exercise their right to vote in New York City.”
The chief said if something does happen, officers are ready and equipped to respond quickly.