Here’s how the NYPD brass should have responded to the snowball assault

Battle of the blues

Recently, I spoke with retired NYPD Detective Tom Smith, who was on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, three decades with the NYPD, specialist on narcotics and gang warfare. I asked him about this snowball incident in Washington Square Park last week — people pelting cops — what should we do if comes more snow and more hooligans?

Smith: “NYPD leadership gets in front of a camera. Says I want 20 people arrested on the scene. Cops can not be assaulted. Someone’s calling additional units to get there and lots of people go to jail.

“Criminals know the policies of how much they can get away with. It emboldens them because they’ll act even above this since they know what they can get away with. I’d like the commissioner in front of cameras slamming her hand down. Mad at how her cops are being treated. They need to know when things happen that the police commissioner’s going to have their back.

“I hope she’s not held back because of some agreement with this administration. Every time she faces a microphone, she reads from her pad what she’s pre-written. Not like talking from the heart. The NYPD men and women notice that. They see the lack of vigor to support them. If you lose the men and women in uniform as their leader, you’ll have a tough time getting them back.

“I was born in Washington Heights. My dad an NYPD detective, so I grew up in this. I joined the force 1990, did patrol, anti-crime, narcotics, robbery squad. After 9/11, I spent 17 years on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. It’s better now than four years ago. No leadership then. Off focus of what they were — to stand for going out to get bad guys.”

“It’s the rhetoric out there. Tough spot because criminals and kids today don’t watch news like we did. They think TikTok is the news. They’re watching social media, they think it’s real. That’s not the case. You have elected officials who listen to that and are dictating what goes on in the city, like [Manhattan DA] Bragg.

“We were averaging more than 2,000 homicides and more than 100,000 robberies every year until Bill Bratton came into the NYPD and said we’re gonna let our cops be cops. It’s why the city turned around. He brought in the district attorneys in the city . . . Our country is now based on disrespect. Disrespect for mothers, fathers, education, religion. Why should they have it for the police?”

A few taxing scenes

Also, if you want to be shunned, bring up tariffs. China’s a good example. If Beijing doesn’t promote chaos, it gets better trade opportunities in America. Just saying.

Anyone know Russell Crowe once was taking violin lessons for a role? He actually plays “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” for friends. He told pals, “I intend to keep on fiddling. I find it relaxing.” Trust me, a Jascha Heifetz he’s not.

And did anyone know that Laura Linney once marched a reporter out of a theater after he blurted out “Macbeth” during a backstage interview? She said: “You say ‘the Scottish play’ or ‘the Scottish king.’ If someone says the ‘M’ word backstage something will go wrong. To erase that you take the speaker outside, make them turn around three times, spit over their left shoulder, knock on the door and then be let back in.”

She says: “I’m not wacky that way but that is one thing I’m serious about. And sure enough, despite my best efforts, something went wrong that night.”

The medical profession is saying that America’s making fewer babies these days. The birth rate is way down. Couples are waiting. Doctors are busy. Finances are tough. Jobs are few. Hospitals are understaffed. I know one guy who’s furious that America is sending millions to India just to buy contraceptives. He says: “Couldn’t they just do what my wife does? Pretend she’s asleep?”

Only in New York, kids, only in New York.