April 25, 2000
No Discipline for Officer Who Showed
N.R.A. Video
By KEVIN FLYNN
Police Commissioner Howard Safir said yesterday that he would
not discipline a police officer who angered gun control advocates
and several parents last month by using a video produced by the National
Rifle Association to teach schoolchildren about gun safety.
Although he said he does not like the messenger, Mr. Safir said the
message of the N.R.A. video, which features a cartoon character named
Eddie Eagle, was consistent with the Police Department's teachings that
children who encounter guns should avoid them and alert an adult.
In the animated video, children who come upon a gun are told: "Don't
touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult." The video was shown in March to
two classes of fourth graders at P.S. 217 in Brooklyn by a youth officer
from the 70th Precinct, but there are no plans to show it in other schools,
police officials said.
"The message in fact is a good message, even though I disagree totally
with the N.R.A.," Mr. Safir said.
But the public advocate, Mark Green, said at a news conference
yesterday, and in a letter to Mr. Safir, that the video severely understates
the dangers of guns by not describing them as lethal or demonstrating
their deadly impact by including interviews with victims. "Speaking as
someone who has spent parts of six years getting rid of Joe Camel
billboards," Mr. Green said, "it is simply ludicrous to believe that a cuddly
cartoon character that never flatly says guns are lethal will keep kids
away from firearms."
Opponents of smoking have maintained that the use of the cartoon
character Joe Camel in cigarette ads was an attempt to lure children into
the tobacco market.
Mr. Safir described Mr. Green, a frequent critic of the department, as a
"cop basher" and dismissed his news conference as a publicity stunt, but
said that he did not envision using the video again.
At the same time, Mr. Safir said he did not believe the officer had
intended to do anything more than teach children about the dangers of
guns and, as a result, the officer's action did not warrant any sort of
reprimand. Marilyn Mode, a spokesman for Mr. Safir, said she thought
school administrators had approved the video before it was shown. A
Board of Education spokeswoman directed questions about the incident,
which was first reported in The Daily News, to School District 22. Board
of Education officials said they could comment because the matter had
been handled by district officials.
An N.R.A. spokesman said the Eddie Eagle program had been designed
in conjunction with child psychologists and effectively presents a message
of avoidance without making value judgments about the morality of guns
or firearms ownership.
"It is a pure gun-avoidance, accident-prevention program for young
kids," said the spokesman, Bill Powers. "To those who would criticize it,
I say, 'What have you done?' "
No Discipline for Officer Who Showed
N.R.A. Video
By KEVIN FLYNN
Police Commissioner Howard Safir said yesterday that he would
not discipline a police officer who angered gun control advocates
and several parents last month by using a video produced by the National
Rifle Association to teach schoolchildren about gun safety.
Although he said he does not like the messenger, Mr. Safir said the
message of the N.R.A. video, which features a cartoon character named
Eddie Eagle, was consistent with the Police Department's teachings that
children who encounter guns should avoid them and alert an adult.
In the animated video, children who come upon a gun are told: "Don't
touch. Leave the area. Tell an adult." The video was shown in March to
two classes of fourth graders at P.S. 217 in Brooklyn by a youth officer
from the 70th Precinct, but there are no plans to show it in other schools,
police officials said.
"The message in fact is a good message, even though I disagree totally
with the N.R.A.," Mr. Safir said.
But the public advocate, Mark Green, said at a news conference
yesterday, and in a letter to Mr. Safir, that the video severely understates
the dangers of guns by not describing them as lethal or demonstrating
their deadly impact by including interviews with victims. "Speaking as
someone who has spent parts of six years getting rid of Joe Camel
billboards," Mr. Green said, "it is simply ludicrous to believe that a cuddly
cartoon character that never flatly says guns are lethal will keep kids
away from firearms."
Opponents of smoking have maintained that the use of the cartoon
character Joe Camel in cigarette ads was an attempt to lure children into
the tobacco market.
Mr. Safir described Mr. Green, a frequent critic of the department, as a
"cop basher" and dismissed his news conference as a publicity stunt, but
said that he did not envision using the video again.
At the same time, Mr. Safir said he did not believe the officer had
intended to do anything more than teach children about the dangers of
guns and, as a result, the officer's action did not warrant any sort of
reprimand. Marilyn Mode, a spokesman for Mr. Safir, said she thought
school administrators had approved the video before it was shown. A
Board of Education spokeswoman directed questions about the incident,
which was first reported in The Daily News, to School District 22. Board
of Education officials said they could comment because the matter had
been handled by district officials.
An N.R.A. spokesman said the Eddie Eagle program had been designed
in conjunction with child psychologists and effectively presents a message
of avoidance without making value judgments about the morality of guns
or firearms ownership.
"It is a pure gun-avoidance, accident-prevention program for young
kids," said the spokesman, Bill Powers. "To those who would criticize it,
I say, 'What have you done?' "