The NYPD may or may not be refusing to make arrests as a part of their spat with the mayor. According to the New York Post (whose credibility is always in question, arrests for petty crime have dropped more than ninety percent.
See NYPD Punishes City by Not Making Arrests
How do we interpret this response? Is it a collective temper tantrum from out of control, over privileged civil servants?
Not at all.
Is it a defensive tactic to protect the safety and welfare of officers afraid of being ambushed by a cop killer?
Not really.
It is a direct attack on the city's finances. It is a message from the NYPD to City Hall that hits the city where it hurts the most, in the budget.
Fines and tickets make up a big part of the city's income. If the mayor won't support the police by letting them kill minorities at will, then the police won't support the mayor with cash.
This fight isn't about laws, justice, freedom or even lives. It is about money and power. Everything else, including us, is collateral damage.