It works similarly to the amber alert system, a communications blast that allows ordinary people to help.
"We want them to call 911 if they get this alert, and they see something and they know what's going on," Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said.The blue alert was first introduced after the gut-wrenching assassination of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn more than 8 years ago.
It was President Barack Obama who introduced it, inviting all states to opt in. As of now, 37 of them have, including New Jersey and Connecticut, but ironically, not New York where that incident inspired the idea. Why has it taken so long? Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder weighed in. He blames recent laws in Albany, which have hurt, rather than helped police.
"And now we're standing here with a law that says the last three years you were wrong," Ryder said. "This is 'back the blue' in Nassau County, Long Island, they back the blue. They support their law enforcement."
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