Justifiably angry police officers in New York City, knowing the political and media sympathy for the violent rioters who held major cities in America hostage for days and who are now toppling American historical artifacts all over the nation, are finally using the legal system to fight back. Not the criminal justice system, the civil tort system. They will launch civil lawsuits against individuals —actions against groups may be forthcoming— who harmed officers performing their duties during the riots.

The communications salvo to precede the legal artillery started on Tuesday, as police union leaders defended officers amid media reports of cops facing criminal charges for using excessive force to combat riots. Of course, those who make those charges were never in any danger at those riots—the cops were.

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In New York City police union officials strongly and legitimately hit the press, accusing them of luridly focusing on images of police trying to restore order in cities, where rioters were running amok, destroying property, looting, committing arson, and even killing innocent civilians and police alike. Major media portrayed the police as the villains, with violent rioters being given saintly sanctification by the likes of CNN and that ilk.

“I am not Derek Chauvin. They are not him,” said Mike O’Meara, president of the New York Association of Police Benevolent Associations. He said that to reporters at a news conference, pointing out a large group of police officers standing behind him in a show of solidarity. “The legislators, the press, everybody’s trying to shame us into being embarrassed about our profession. Stop treating us like animals and thugs, and start treating us with some respect. … We’ve been left out of the conversation, we’ve been vilified — it’s disgusting.”

On Wednesday the other shoe dropped and the legal strategy came into play. “If you assault a New York City Detective and there are no consequences from the criminal justice system, we have to have other means to protect our detectives,” said Paul DiGiacomo, president of the Detectives’ Endowment Association, a union that represents some 19,000 current and former detectives. He promised to sue any rioter or looter who attacked anyone in his union.

“It’s heart-wrenching because they are out there doing a job under very difficult circumstances,” said DiGiacomo. “Trying to protect the innocent people that are protesting while the criminal element is within that group, assaulting, looting and victimizing not only police officers and detectives out there, but also the people of the city. They’ve had urine thrown at them, rocks thrown at them, shot at, assaulted. I don’t know how much more they could take a day of putting up with a lot out there. And, you know, they are the finest in the world and they are doing a fabulous job, but they are being demonized by the elected officials… We will be behind our detectives and pursue these cases civilly and send a message to the criminal element, that you are not going to get away with this. If we can’t get you one way, we will get you another.” The NYPD has said that more than 350 of its officers suffered injuries during the riots.

As the NYPD union was girding for battle, an incident bore out the claim of police officers being attacked by vicious thugs. In Northern California, authorities say a suspect posted anti-police messages prior to setting up an ambush that left a Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputy dead and two other law enforcement officers wounded.

U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr understands the significance of those types of social media messages. “Demonizing police” is “wrong” and “dangerous,” Barr told the media. “We put these individuals into highly charged, dangerous situations where their own life is at stake…and we have to make sure we treat them fairly in those circumstances.”