NYC Mayor Asks Public to Send Him Photos of Officers on Phones, Union Says Phones were Issued for Police Work

The NYPD has rolled out increased numbers of officers into subway stations around the city, but some officers can be spotted standing around on their phones. New York City Mayor Eric Adams wants commuters to take pictures and send them to him.

“We are going to start taking very aggressive actions to make sure police are patrolling our subway system and and not patrolling their iPhones,” Adams said. “You are going to see a visual difference in policing in the next couple of weeks,” PIX11 reports.

Adams, a former transit officer himself, said he used to patrol by himself on subways. Now he said it’s not uncommon to see a group of transit officers hanging out by the booth.

“I am disappointed in the deployment of transit police personnel,” he said.

Officers were ordered to carry and use the phones, Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch said. They’re used to document the work officers do each day.

“Every form we are required to fill out and every alert we receive comes through the phone,” he said. “If there’s a problem with cops using the phone on duty, NYPD management should change the policies and go back to pen and paper.”