Over the weekend, a New York City police officers’ union sent out a memo alerting cops to a possible threat from a group called the Ten Black Guerrilla Family. “As you know, the NYPD is going through a very challenging time with no help from Mayor DeBlasio [sic]. Be assured this organization will do everything in its power and use every resource to protect each of you,” wrote Sergeants Benevolent Association head Ed Mullins. “Once again, I am told this information is credible and has been verified … Please WEAR your VESTS and carry your firearm off-duty along with additional magazines.”
The Ten Black Guerrilla Family is a gang that formed in California’s prisons in the ‘60s and recently reemerged in Maryland. According to the New York Daily News, an undercover officer learned that the organization was “preparing to shoot” on-duty members of the NYPD a few days after the non-indictment in the Eric Garner case. But even the usually pro-cop New York Post doesn’t seem entirely convinced that there’s anything to worry about:
The threat arose Friday, after identical typed notes purporting to be in-house police communications and mentioning the organization Black Guerrilla Family began showing up at multiple precincts, Mullins said.
It’s unclear if the notes were fakes, but they are awkwardly written, claiming that an “UC#19” had forwarded a credible threat to an unspecified “Homicide Section.”
Undercovers are not typically referred to by two-digit numbers and “Homicide Section” is not in the common parlance.
“I still don’t know if it’s real,” Mullins admitted. “But I don’t want to take a chance.” He added that he didn’t think the supposed threat was specifically linked to the Garner decision. “There is an upheaval of people bitching all over the country against cops,” he said. That’s one way to put it.
