A 20-year veteran of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) celebrated his recent retirement by criticizing the agency.
Thomas Gambardella shared a photo online of himself flipping off a police memorial while wearing a blue t-shirt that said, “Let’s Go, Brandon,” the New York Post reported Saturday.
“I’m officially retired today!” he said in a recent post. “From this sorry excuse of a s–t job. Thank God, I’m free at last!… I loved everyone I worked with and ‘some’ of the people I’ve worked for. But this job is no one’s friend. Time to live free. I’ll see you all out there!”
The former detective sergeant loved the job in the beginning, however, it went downhill because of the city’s soft-on-crime policies.
“Crime is soaring and cops are leaving in droves,” Gambardella told the Post. “Anybody can see that. All this liberalism is obviously a failure. But this is what they wanted. It’s a stupid experiment and it’s the people who will pay in the end.”
Meanwhile, over 1,500 of the city’s officers had either stepped down or retired so far in 2022, the Post recently reported.
“The city is out of control — especially since bail reform,” said a former Queens officer, noting it was an issue of leaving while it was still possible.
However, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) has claimed he is not worried about NYPD officers leaving the force in droves.
Adams said, “New York City Department is an amazing career. I know it first hand. We’re going to find young men and women, who are going to want to be a member of New York City’s finest.”
“Let’s go, Brandon” became a replacement for “Fuck Joe Biden” chants after a reporter said the audience at a NASCAR race was yelling, “Let’s go, Brandon” instead of the initial chant.
The moment happened during an interview in October with winner Brandon Brown at the Talladega Superspeedway, according to Breitbart News.