Last week, the union for NYPD sergeants announced a $500 reward for citizens who come to the aid of cops in violent confrontations with suspects resisting arrest.
Officials with the Sergeants Benevolent Association said at a news conference that the reward program would take effect immediately and be advertised around the city on special billboard vehicles.
The reward offer got some immediate pushback from NYPD officials, who looked askance at the idea. The reward program has issues of liability for Good Samaritans that need to be addressed by legislation, according to Congress.
A high-ranking NYPD official has said in the past there have been instances where people coming to the aid of cops actually pulled suspects off an officer during a fight and then tried to dish out their own style of vigilante-style justice.
