The holiday season is traditionally a joyous time of the year when we gather together with our family and friends, toast and celebrate our accomplishments over the past year, and quietly reflect and give thanks for our blessings.

Unfortunately, due to the recent tragic events over the last few months, culminating with the senseless and brutal assassination of two on-duty NYPD police officers in Brooklyn, this holiday season is a somber one.

While our thoughts and prayers are with the NYPD officers and their families at their time of grief, their murders on Saturday is a stark reminder that as law enforcement officers, we must always remain vigilant and aware of our surroundings at all times. We are now living in a different world, where threats to law enforcement officers are routinely posted on social media, the killing of cops is glorified in despicable music videos, and even more disturbing, this behavior is ignored and condoned by some elected public officials who refuse to do anything about it. If nothing  else changes because of these events, the assassination of the two NYPD officers reinforces the need for public officials to take a stand and publicly condemn threats against the law enforcement community that are posted on social media and elsewhere.

Our leaders in government must also commit to a zero tolerance policy that immediately removes anyone who propagates such clear and present dangers to the entire law enforcement community both on and off duty.  The safety and security of all of us is critical to maintaining a safe society.

When one of us is threatened, we are all threatened.

We have much more work to do in the years ahead and you can rest assured that the Executive Board and I will work vigorously to keep you and your fellow officers safe both on and off duty.  We will always continue to stay strong, stand united, and support our members!

In closing, we wish you and your family a PEACEFUL and SAFE holiday season, followed by a more prosperous 2015 filled with good health and happiness!

John Jaronczyk

COBA President

‍