纽约时报 警察工会 改革路上的巨型拦路虎(4)

The union president said the officers "were simply following orders."

工会主席称，警官们“只是在奉命行事”。

All 57 officers on the Emergency Response Team, a special squad¹ formed to respond to riots,

涉事应急小组原是为应对骚乱而成立的一支特殊分队，

had resigned from their posts on the team in support of the suspended officers, according to The Buffalo² News.

据《布法罗新闻》报道，为支持被停职的警官，应急小组所有57名警官均已辞去小组职务。

Unions can be so effective at defending their members that cops with a pattern of abuse can be left untouched, with fatal consequences.

由于警察工会保护成员极其有力，长期存在虐待行为的警官犯事时也能不闻不问，有时还会因此引发致命后果。

In Chicago, after the killing³ of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by officer Jason Van Dyke⁴,

据透露，17岁的黑人拉坎·麦克唐纳被芝加哥警官杰森·范·戴克杀害后，

it emerged that Mr. Van Dyke had been the subject of multiple complaints already.

人们才发现，在那之前，范·戴克就已背负多起投诉。

But a "code of silence" about misconduct was effectively "baked into" the labor⁵ agreements between police unions and the city,

然而，针对警察行为不当的“沉默守则”实质已经被“融入”警察工会和市政厅之间的劳动协议，

according to a report conducted by task force.

特别工作组的一份报告显示。

New York City's police unions have been among the most vocal⁶ opponents of reforms in Albany,

在反对（纽约州首府）奥尔巴尼市改革，包括改革该州严格限制披露警察纪律记录的规定的声音中，

including calls to reform the state's tight restrictions⁷ on the disciplinary records of officers.

纽约市警察工会的声音几乎最为响亮。

Amid growing momentum⁸ in recent days for making those records public,

近日，将警察纪律记录公之于众的势头日益显著，

the city's police unions joined statewide police groups on Friday in urging the Legislature to keep the law in place.

整个纽约州的警察团体都在敦促立法机构沿用原来的规定，纽约市警察工会也加入了他们的行列。

"No rational policy discussion can take place against a backdrop of burning police vehicles and looted store fronts,"

“（抗议民众）又是焚烧警车、又是抢劫店面，还怎么进行理性的政策讨论？”

read a memo⁹ of opposition¹⁰ from the police groups.

来自警察团体的一份反对改革的备忘录里写道。

The city's patrol officers' union, with roughly 24,000 active members,

拥有近2.4万名活跃成员的纽约市巡警工会

and another representing sergeants¹¹ have been sharp critics of Mayor Bill de Blasio,

和另一名代表警官对2014年时趁着民众对拦截搜身警察的不满浪潮

who took office in 2014 riding a wave of discontent over stop-and-frisk policing.

上任的纽约市长白思豪提出了尖锐的批评。

The mayor promised reform, but after the fatal shooting of two uniformed officers in Brooklyn

白市长曾承诺改革，但在两名身着制服的警察在布鲁克林

by a man who invoked¹² the police killing of Eric Garner¹³,

被一名促使警察击毙埃里克·加纳的男子射杀后，

Mr. de Blasio faced an all-but-declared revolt by rank-and-file officers.

白思豪遭到了基层警官明确的反抗。

The head of the patrol officers' union, Patrick J. Lynch, said at the time that the mayor had "blood on the hands."

巡警工会主席帕特里克·J·林奇当时就表示，市长的“双手已经沾满鲜血”。

Many officers turned their backs on Mr. de Blasio at the slain¹⁴ officers' funerals.

还有不少警官在遇害同事的葬礼上弃白思豪而去。

And, days later, many more engaged in what amounted to a de facto work slowdown.

几天后，又有大批警官加入了无异于消极怠工的活动之中。

Arrests plummeted¹⁵ as did tickets for minor¹⁶ infractions.

结果就是，无论是轻度违规的罚单数量，还是逮捕的数量都已骤然暴跌。

1 squad   

n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组

参考例句：

• The squad leader ordered the men to mark time.班长命令战士们原地踏步。
• A squad is the smallest unit in an army.班是军队的最小构成单位。

2 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 dyke   

n.堤，水坝，排水沟

参考例句：

• If one sheep leap over the dyke,all the rest will follow.一只羊跳过沟，其余的羊也跟着跳。
• One ant-hole may cause the collapse of a thousand-li dyke.千里长堤，溃于蚁穴。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

6 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

9 memo   

n.照会，备忘录；便笺；通知书；规章

参考例句：

• Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗？
• Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗？

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 sergeants   

警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士

参考例句：

• Platoon sergeants fell their men in on the barrack square. 排长们在营房广场上整顿队伍。
• The recruits were soon licked into shape by the drill sergeants. 新兵不久便被教育班长训练得象样了。

12 invoked   

v.援引( invoke的过去式和过去分词 )；行使（权利等）；祈求救助；恳求

参考例句：

• It is unlikely that libel laws will be invoked. 不大可能诉诸诽谤法。
• She had invoked the law in her own defence. 她援引法律为自己辩护。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

14 slain   

杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词)

参考例句：

• The soldiers slain in the battle were burried that night. 在那天夜晚埋葬了在战斗中牺牲了的战士。
• His boy was dead, slain by the hand of the false Amulius. 他的儿子被奸诈的阿缪利乌斯杀死了。

15 plummeted   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Share prices plummeted to an all-time low. 股票价格暴跌到历史最低点。
• A plane plummeted to earth. 一架飞机一头栽向地面。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。