Let it be known that New York city councilman Ritchie Torres does not suffer homophobic police officers who hide behind Twitter accounts.
Torres, who’s currently running for Congress in New York, has been in bitter back-and-forth with NYPD union leader Ed Mullins over a tweet sent from the Sergeants Benevolent Association official Twitter page last week.
Mullins is the president of SBA, which represents around 13,000 active and retired police sergeants. The since-deleted tweet, sent on September 4, read:
He we go America this is what a first class whore looks like RITCHIE TORRES. Passes laws to defund police, supports criminals, & now because he’s running for office he blames the police to protect what he voted for. Remember Little Ritchie? Meet LYING RITCHIE.
It also included a video of Torres criticizing the NYPD for its failures in making gun arrests and solving gun-related cases, as well as the rise in shootings over the past year.
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SBA’s tweet caused quite a stir on social media, with many calling it out for being both racist and homophobic.
And of all the words you could have chosen, to call an openly gay Black and Latino future congressman a "whore" shows just how racist, homophobic and out of touch your so-called police union has become. You bring nothing but shame and dishonor on the New York Police Department.
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) September 4, 2020
The @SBANYPD's attack on @RitchieTorres is not worth re-sharing, but it does need to be called out and named for what it is: racist and homophobic.
But there are many more of us who have your back and look forward to seeing you take your seat in Congress a few months from now.
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) September 5, 2020
If this is the way a police union talks about an elected official almost certainly headed for Congress in January, how do its gun-carrying members treat New Yorkers? https://t.co/l5tDt64luR
— Mara Gay (@MaraGay) September 4, 2020
Shortly after it was posted, Torres highlighted the many, many times SBA has attacked people from minority groups and called on Mullins to step down as the union’s leader.
“Calling a black NFL player a ‘wild animal.’ Calling a Latina Health Commissioner a ‘bitch.’ Calling an openly LGBTQ Afro-Latino a first-class whore.’ There is NOTHING benevolent about the bigotry of the @SBANYPD. Ed Mullins must resign,” he wrote.
Calling a black NFL player a “wild animal.” Calling a Latina Health Commissioner a “bitch.” Calling an openly LGBTQ Afro-Latino a “first-class whore.” There is NOTHING benevolent about the bigotry of the @SBANYPD. Ed Mullins must resign. pic.twitter.com/CoTgKrq8C8
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) September 8, 2020
Not surprisingly, Mullins has refused to accept any responsibility whatsoever. In a statement, he said he’ll “never resign” and that the comments about Torres “had nothing to do with his race, ethnicity or sexual orientation.” Then he tried turning the tables on Torres by saying “he should be the one to resign.”
The SBA’s response to Councilman Ritchie Torres calling for Ed Mullins’ resignation. pic.twitter.com/ihUjmpcP7y
— SBA (@SBANYPD_Archive) September 8, 2020
Mullins followed that up with an appearance on a local morning radio show, during which he further denied accusations of homophobia, saying he couldn’t possibly be antigay because he grew up in Greenwich Village, which everyone knows is a gay hub in New York City.
After hearing this, Torres tweeted an epic burn, writing: “I owe Ed an apology: I put too much emphasis on your history of hate speech. Your time spent in the Village clearly makes you an ally.”
I owe Ed an apology: I put too much emphasis on your history of hate speech. Your time spent in the Village clearly makes you an ally.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) September 9, 2020
Torres is forecasted to win his election in November. If that happens, he’ll become the first openly gay member of Congress who is either Black or Latinx.
Related: This gay millennial is challenging a 76-year-old homophobe for a NY Congressional seat
Mister P
There is an ingrained culture of evil in police departments. It is not just a few bad ones.
lord.krath
a) I did not read a single word in the controversial statement that indicated any form of homophobia or racism.
b) are we saying that whore = gay? I certainly hope not, even if it is true for certain sisters and brothers of ours.
Everyone calling everyone else a racist and homophobe is not helpful. It lessens the impact and diminishes the meaning of those words. It’s like people calling Obama (and democrats in general) Nazis. Clearly, they are not Nazis, and yet here we are where the word is thrown around casually ignoring the millions who died at their hands and the trauma they caused the world.
“He we go America this is what a first class whore looks like RITCHIE TORRES. Passes laws to defund police, supports criminals, & now because he’s running for office he blames the police to protect what he voted for. Remember Little Ritchie? Meet LYING RITCHIE.”
barryaksarben
you obviously are a troll. Do you think for one minute that he would have called a white straight male a whore? no. He would no doubt have used a horrible slur but it would not have been something you call women you disrespect
stanhope
Go sit on a pickle you dimwit..clearly you are a plant to stir up stuff when you should be out trying to find your biological daddy since your mom was high and drunk the month of your conception meaning any one of 312 possibilities.
mtrodetguy
It doesn’t matter what you interpreted by Mullins’ comments, they were uncalled for, disrespectful, and also abhorrent coming from an organizational leader on the organization’s Twitter account. Extremely unprofessional.
“He we go America this is what a first class whore looks like RITCHIE TORRES. Passes laws to defund police, supports criminals, & now because he’s running for office he blames the police to protect what he voted for. Remember Little Ritchie? Meet LYING RITCHIE.”
Nothing he describes here justifies the term *first class whore”. Poor choice in words.
chrisnyc1
The NYPD has a long legacy of homophobia, which is why they are attacking Torres. If you didn’t “hear” it, it’s because you didn’t read between the lines. Had he not been gay and Black, the pigs would not have attacked him to begin with.
mailliw110
Please write your book somewhere else.
PoetDaddy
Police union boss Ed Mullins is one of the most loathsome human beings in New York City. He is everything rotten about the police, and his name at the top of their union makes the NYPD look bad. If you didn’t dislike the police before, Ed Mullins will give you a reason. Ed Mullins will BE the reason.
chrisnyc1
Amen
Mister P
He was using the word whore to be as derogatory as he could to a gay man.
BrinLondo
The police unions need to go. ALL POLICE UNIONS NEED.TO.GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
stanhope
Amen
Yooper
Why?
Inspector 57
I second that “amen.”
“Cop culture” is a real thing. It is toxic, and it is dangerous to the citizens of this country.
Inspector 57
I second that “Amen.”
“Cop culture” is a real thing. It is toxic, and it is dangerous to the citizens of this country.
I’m not for de-funding all police departments, but I am ALL ABOUT dismantling them NOW and rebuilding them with officers who have passed more effective psychological exams, undergone training about racism and homophobia, and who agree that they will be fired immediately if they are ever on the job with their body-cams turned off.
I’m sick of these cowboys. Literally.
justyouandi
Uh Oh, here we go …… I have to agree with lord.krath. I didn’t see anything racist or homophobic in that tweet.
There is currency in victimhood, so it’s a wise move to make yourself one if there is something you want to get out of it.
amj86
In case anyone needs a refresher, this is the trash bag who did a Fox News interview from his office with a Q-Anon mug proudly and deliberately displayed in the back of the shot.
tjr101
Police unions equals fascism.