A cash reward has been offered to anyone who provides information on the vandals who spray-painted disturbing messages threatening police officers and their families in Westhampton, New York in recent weeks.
According to The New York Post, graffiti that read “COPS WILL BE SHOT” “COP WIVES GET SHOT 2” was reported to the Suffolk County Police Department late last month.
Another message, which read “WHBPD=DEATH,” likely referring to the Westhampton Beach Police Department, was found written on the sidewalk near Beaver Dam Creek.
Two other messages stated, “POOR>RICH” and “SHOOT COPS 4 FUN.”
In response to the anti-cop threats, Suffolk County Crime Stoppers offered a cash reward for any information leading to an arrest.
“The public is the greatest resource the Suffolk County Police Department has to prevent and solve crimes. Tips or information regarding crimes and drug dealing can be anonymously submitted in a variety of ways and tipsters can receive rewards of up to $5,000,” the department’s website states.
The threatening graffiti was found less than one week after two NYPD officers were shot and killed while responding to reports of a domestic disturbance.
Several police officers have been shot in the first six weeks of 2022. Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD officer himself, has vowed to “ramp up enforcement” to combat gun violence.
“We will ramp up enforcement, deploy more officers on the streets and in the subways, and get our courts at full capacity,” he said, as reported by WPIX. “And we will invest in those longer-term preventions as well: Fixing our broken schools, supporting our unhoused New Yorkers, improving access to mental health services, and changing our laws.”
Pat Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York, also decried the shootings.
“We can’t allow to happen is that it becomes routine to open up the newspaper or turn on the news in the morning and hear that another NYPD officer was shot,” Lynch said during a briefing, according to Fox5.
Earlier this month, hundreds of police officers filled the streets of Manhattan to honor fallen Detective Jason Rivera, who was fatally shot in the line of duty.
“A sea of blue lined Fifth Avenue shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow first responders from around the country as we rendered a final salute to Detective Jason Rivera. With tears in our eyes we bid farewell and make a solemn vow to #NeverForget his legacy and sacrifice to this city,” the NYPD tweeted.
