Stop the vitriol in cop attacks

There is still much to be learned about what triggered a Bronx man accused of twice attempting to kill New York City police officers over the weekend.

But this much is certain: The nasty rhetoric that preceded the attack, and the inflammatory words that followed, are not defusing but inciting tensions between some law enforcement officials and activists who want less policing in the city.

The alleged actions of Robert Williams, 45, are despicable. Williams, who prosecutors said "was tired of police officers," allegedly shot at two of them sitting in a marked patrol van in the Bronx on Saturday night, wounding one in the chin and neck. He then brazenly entered the 41st Precinct Sunday morning and sprayed another round of bullets, hitting a lieutenant in the arm.

Condemnation of his actions was quick and appropriate. No one should do anything like this under any circumstances. The shootings were a reminder that public safety is job-one for government at all levels.

But they came at a troubling time. Protests against police have ramped up, including an at-times-unruly rally at Grand Central Terminal last week against increased police presence in the subways, organized by a group whose name is a graphic anti-police acronym. The attacks also took place against a backdrop of increasing law enforcement agitation over recent reforms to bail and discovery laws that might have gone too far and have polarized many lawmakers and other elected officials.

Whether Williams was influenced by the rhetoric on either side — or by the shooting death of his only son two years ago — is unclear. But uncertainty is no excuse for NYPD PBA President Pat Lynch invoking the debate over bail reform, which had no relevance in this case. Or for President Donald Trump blaming weak leadership by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo at a time of historically low crime. Or, most reprehensibly, for Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins tweeting to de Blasio that "the members of the NYPD are declaring war on you!"

It's not clear whether there is something building in the streets akin to what preceded the killings of two officers in Brooklyn in December 2014. We don't know whether Williams' actions signal the start of another ominous chapter of bad relations between the police and the people they're supposed to protect, or whether this is an isolated incident. That means there is a danger both to overreacting and to ignoring subtexts.

Wild accusations have a price tag, one that society cannot afford to pay.

— The editorial board