A viral TikTok posted Saturday showing a large group of New York City police officers riding the subway unmasked is sparking outrage. Many viewers saw the video as an example of police officers acting “above the law.”
@brennalip Reply to @brennalip Dozens of NYPD commit fair evasion & ride subway maskless. Always above “law” & MTA mask mandate. #fyp #foryou #nyc #wearamask ♬ original sound – Brenna Lip
TikToker Brenna Lip (@brennalip) posted the video, which has garnered over 18,000 views in about four hours. In it, Lip claimed there were “dozens of NYPD” entering the subway station without paying fare or wearing masks. She also called the cops “super spreaders of covid.”
“It’s literally insane,” Lip said in the video. “You see the police are above the mask mandate… It don’t matter to them.”
While Lip stated that the cops were committing fare evasion, uniformed New York City police officers are permitted to ride the subway for free. However, all riders are required to wear masks when on the subway or in an indoor subway station. New York City cops have previously received backlash for not wearing masks and harassing citizens questioning their lack of masks.
“Dozens of NYPD commit fair evasion & ride subway maskless. Always above ‘law’ & MTA mask mandate,” Lip wrote in the caption of the video.
The officers in Lip’s TikTok appear to have gotten on the subway following the memorial for slain New York City police officer Jason Rivera, which was held on Friday. Rivera was shot and killed after responding to a domestic violence call on Jan. 21.
Viewers stated the gathering was not an excuse to risk the health and safety of other riders by crowding into the trains unmasked.
“Theres lit no logical reason that could explain this. its honestly just embarrassing for them,” one person wrote.
“We literally are just recovering from omicron. why are we all hopping on the subway without masks??!??????” another viewer said.
“I would laugh but then it clicks that these people are actually meant to be upholding the law and they dont even have the moral compass to wear masks,” a third person commented.
“They say their motto is to protect and serve but never wear masks. I’ve never seen a cop in any state with a mask on,” another comment read.
Others were frustrated because they saw the video as an example of police officers defying the rules. Some tagged the New York Police Department TikTok account in the comments.
“Nobody polices the police,” one person stated.
“They are giving ‘I am the law’ vibes,” another wrote.
“They are very much the rules are for thee but not for me type people,” a viewer said.
The Daily Dot reached out to Lip and the NYPD for comment via email.
Update 3:40 pm CT, Jan. 30: Lip has been documenting public safety in New York City since the start of the pandemic and amid Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. She expressed frustration with watching cops act above the law. She told the Daily Dot that cops not wearing masks is dangerous for two main reasons.
“The first one obviously, and is the fact that they literally spread COVID to so many people,” Lip said. “And the second is we need to evaluate what does it mean when the law is able to be above the law in front of everyone’s eyes and nothing happens? That’s the most scary and corrupt thing about it.”
She pointed out the leading cause of death in law enforcement in 2021 was COVID-19. She stated that police officers are “never held accountable” when it comes to mask enforcement.
Lip also stated she believes the subway should be free for everyone, not just cops.
“Why is it free for them when they can give tickets to people who can’t afford it?” she questioned. “None of that makes fucking sense. Like if someone can’t afford to $2.75 you think giving them a $100 fine is going to do anything?”
She noted that she received a lot of backlash to her video on Twitter, where people were upset with her for criticizing law enforcement. She claimed a cop direct messaged her and called her a “loser” in response to her post.
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