Since jury decisions for cases such as Michael Brown and Eric Garner both ended in favor of the police, there has been protests starting up in major cities all over the country. Two incidents have occurred in New York City these past two weeks involving civilians shooting the NYPD.

Two police officers were in their car in Brooklyn when they were shot at point-blank range on December 20. The gunman, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, then committed suicide right after. The police officers, Wenjian Liu and Raphael Ramos, may not have even seen the gunman before they were shot. Raphael Ramos had a 13 year old son, and Wenjian Liu just got married last October. “Today two of New York’s finest were shot and killed with no warning, no provocation,” Mr. Bratton said at Woodhull Hospital in Williamsburg, where the officers were declared dead. “They were, quite simply, assassinated — targeted for their uniform and for the responsibility they embraced to keep the people of this city safe.”

Ismaaiyl Brinsley had a long rap sheet of crimes such as carrying concealed weapons and armed robberies. Police believe Brinsley shot his ex-girlfriend in Baltimore earlier in the day, and then posted anti-police postings on her Instagram account. “It is an attack on all of us; it is an attack on everything we hold dear,” said Bill de Blasio, New York mayor.

This double shooting came at a time when protests over police tactics have roiled over the nation. There had been a decrease in violence in the Brooklyn borough because of increased police presence, but Brooklyn residents are worried that this shooting will inflame relations with the police.

Another incident occurred on January 5th, when two career criminals were arrested in the attempted shooting of two NYPD officers in the Bronx. A team of officers were changing out of their uniform when they ran out of the station to a robbery. Two of the cops, 30-year-old Andrew Dossi and 38-year-old Aliro Pellerano,were wounded. The criminals were arrested a few hours after the shooting.

After these tragic events, the relationship between protesters and the police has gotten even more toxic. Patrick Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association said in a statement: “New York City police officers, who could have closed their lockers and gone home after their shift ended, chose to respond to a robbery in progress and, sadly, were shot in the process. Our members are out there doing their jobs and putting themselves in danger to keep this city safe just as they always do.”