It's strange that such carnage in the form of such so-called traffic accidents is tolerated by our community.

I understand that cops' official statements sometimes contain patent lies. However I should point out (maybe I should have already) that I got the impression from the one guy I spoke with at the scene that either lights or sirens were on.

He pointed out that the cameras in the projects across the Avenue would have recorded it, but others have speculated that those recordings will go straight into the posession of the cops and no one will see them. I don't know how that stuff works.

Also, if it is true that the first ambulance on the scene only tended to the injured cops, then that suggests that the cops interfered with the work of the paramedics. In a situation where the number of casualties is beyond the capacity of the responders, paramedics typically do a triage and then focus on the worst injuries that are not terminal. The guy with the broken leg should have been the first to receive care, and if that didn't happen, then something is very fishy.

Nevertheless, I would like to mention a couple things about providing prehospital medical care in New York State:

First, not every cop is trained as a certified [medical] first responder or EMT; second, victims would likely be combative and resistant to being treated medically by colleagues of their aggressors; two-a, as a medical responder, you must ensure your safety and the safety of other responders before responding to patients; third, the standard of care is that patients go to the hospital in ambulances, not in police cars or vans.

The change starts from the top, with Ray Kelly replaced by someone who can actually keep cops in line. The notion that cops protect cops is as stupid as it is harmful to the city, and it provides shelter for cops to do nearly anything they want until Ray Kelly says it's too much. Cops should be beholden to the people they supposedly serve, not Ray Kelly.