Responding to widespread condemnation of the NYPD officer who wrongly tackled tennis star James Blake last week, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch sent a blistering letter to reporters on Tuesday characterizing their criticism as “irresponsible, unjust and un-American.”

“If you have never struggled with someone who is resisting arrest or who pulled a gun or knife on you when you approached them for breaking a law,” Lynch opens his letter, “then you are not qualified to judge the actions of police officers putting themselves in harm’s way for the public good.”

Addressed to “all arm-chair judges,” Lynch’s letter denounces “knee-jerk” reactions and states “no one should ever jump to an uninformed conclusion”—referring, of course, to critics who have seen footage of the incident and not to the officer who tackled and handcuffed the wrong guy.

To recap, here are the people not qualified to judge the actions of police, according to Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch:

  • Writers
  • Pundits
  • Police brutality victims
  • Prosecutors
  • Jurors
  • Judges
  • Anyone who has “never struggled with someone who is resisting arrest.”

And here are the people he believes are qualified to judge the actions of police:

  • Law enforcement officers
  • Former law enforcement officers

Okay, seems reasonable enough.

[Image via AP Images]