What to Know
- Conservative commentator Ann Coulter took aim at the NYPD Tuesday, calling the department "little girls" in a tweet
- The tweet came in response to an attack near Notre Dame Cathedral; Paris police shot the attacker
- Other Twitter users rushed to the NYPD's defense on social media, calling Coulter "ignorant" and citing the department's 9/11 response
Conservative firebrand Ann Coulter, no stranger to public outrage, is under fire for a tweet calling the NYPD "little girls" as she praised Paris police for their response to a hammer-wielding attacker near Notre Dame Cathedral Tuesday.
Coulter's comments came after a man armed with a hammer attacked a French police officer, shouting "it's for Syria." A second officer shot the attacker, wounding him. The other officer was hurt, but he's expected to be OK.
"Paris police very macho, unlike the little girls on NYPD: Only 2 shots fired, one hit the Muslim in the thorax," Coulter tweeted. (Police believe the hammer-wielding man was Algerian, based on his ID, but his religious affiliation was not clear.)
"We're hectored to be like the French on adultery & global warming. Why can't we be like the French on hiring large, strong men as cops?" she asked in a second tweet.
A message seeking comment was left with the NYPD.
The public, meanwhile, came to the department's defense. A flurry of Twitter users blasted Coulter's attack, with at least one writing, "What's wrong with you?" and others calling her ignorant.
Several Coulter critics, including @p_jeanne97, cited the NYPD's response on 9/11.
"Like the little NYPD girls who died on 9-11? The ones who've stopped god knows how many attacks? What on earth happened to make u like this?" @p_jeanne97 tweeted.
Coulter did not reply to the critical comments in the Twitter thread.
Coulter was most recently in the news in April when officials cancelled a planned speaking engagement at the University of California, Berkeley, leading to a lawsuit by the College Republicans and protests over free-speech rights.