Jeff Ross Quotes

In order for us to respect law enforcement, it is necessary for law enforcement to respect us.

There’s blood on many hands tonight. Those that incited violence on this street under the guise of protest, that tried to tear down what New York City police officers did every day…. That blood on the hands starts on the steps of City Hall in the Office of the Mayor.

We are safer when communities respect the police and the police respect the communities.

No other agency is scrutinized like the police. Everything we do is in a goldfish bowl. We are not the most popular people in society. We do things like use deadly force; we're the bearers of bad news. We're not firefighters, who are viewed as heroic, helping people, with people loving them back. The police have a much more complex and demanding job.

When I had the job of police commissioner, 20 years ago, I was more sensitive, more cognizant of complaints and concerned about public opinion. I've learned to do what I think is the right thing. That lessens the impact of criticism. You get used to a pressurized environment and expect it every day.

I don't pick up people. This is the work of the police. If there's anybody with a case, it's the police, not me.

We're not being invaded by undocumented immigrants who are coming to kill police officers and commit crimes. And I don't think most Americans think it's true.

We have to restore trust between communities and the police.

The police are not entrusted with a mission which differentiates them from those they serve. Being unconcerned with ultimate purposes, they are inseparable from the persons and interests of their masters, and shine with their reflected glory.

I think people have got to understand when a murder is committed on British soil, when innocent people have been put at risk by the method that murder is committed then we expect authorities in other parts of the world to co-operate.

I think most Americans have an innate respect for the police and for their authority.

I've always been paranoid about the police, because even when I'm not doing anything illegal, I'm thinking about doing something illegal. So, whenever I'm around a cop, I get uncomfortable and nervous, worried that I'll say the wrong thing or look so guilty they'll arrest me anyway. Being completely out of my mind on drugs doesn't help the situation any.

I think we waste a lot of time trying to convince other people that we're right. A lot of times we don't actually care what another person thinks, we just want to say what we think. To hear it reflected back to us and that we're okay, to hear that we have been understood and that we're correct - so that we can continue to be who we are in the ways we've been being, and we have nothing to feel bad about and everything is just fine. Even if what we're talking about is, like, police brutality.

People think I'm really melancholy and romantic and all whispery. I'm not at all. I'm very direct.

People shouldn't be afraid to bring up issues of bias in law enforcement.

I think people get so frustrated with Washington, D.C.That's why they're so angry with the - the electorate is so angry with everybody who is involved in government in Washington, D.C. Because if you listen to the folks up here [ on debate], you think that they weren't even there; they had nothing to do with this.

Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place. Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place.

We have things to say about Congress and all of that. I think we may have our magnum opus coming yet. It's a piece called "Leonard" that I'm very excited about, and I think we're going to see a side of Chris Pine that people haven't really seen yet. That's all I'm going to say, but I'm proud of it.

We've seen how militarized gear can sometimes give people a feeling like there's an occupying force, as opposed to a force that's part of the community that's protecting them and serving them.

I am straight forward; I am not manipulative; I am not two-faced. And I think that that has served me well in all of my roles, particularly as a diplomat, because people knew if I said something, I meant it. If I said no, I meant no, and if I said we could make this work, we would make it work.

I'm from Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. So, you grow up around police officers. Some of them are in your family, some of them you have encounters with. I had a young police officer we were friends with in our group.

In movies you get to do that. Sometimes with the vigilante justice movie he has to also tangle with police, which are traditional or security people. Is there going to be any of that in this?

We have greater awareness of where we're falling short than we used to. Just take the example of community police relations.

That's what everyone thinks--they think being a cop is about punishing people for doing wrong. But that's not true. You know it isn't. It's about believing in people, believing in the good. In the will of people to do what's right despite their own instincts.

It is foolish for people to think they can align themselves and be safe in a police state.