STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - It's been hard times for the NYPD lately.

Officers across the city were vilified following the death of Staten Islander Eric Garner in police custody. The fact that the Rev. Al Sharpton was at the forefront of protests did nothing to keep the temperature down.

Cops again found themselves under fire after a grand jury declined to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in Garner's chokehold death. The biggest question: How could a grand jury fail to indict when there was video of the actual incident on the Internet for all to see?

The Garner grand jury decision followed on the heels of a similar decision in Ferguson, Mo., where a grand jury declined to indict a white police office in the shooting death of a black youth. That led to riots and looting in Ferguson.

The Garner grand jury controversy sparked protests across the city, including one during which police officers were assaulted (or "allegedly" assaulted, in Mayor Bill de Blasio's infamous parlance).

Then came that terrible day in December when Police Officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were shot to death as they sat in their patrol car. The assailant, who killed himself, was seeking a twisted revenge for civilians like Garner who had died at the hands of police.

A cold war ensued between de Blasio and the NYPD, and the department took its knocks from coast to coast. Other controversies got dredged up, including de Blasio's stop-and-frisk reforms. The mayor discussed advice he had given his bi-racial son, Dante, when dealing with the cops. NYPD rank-and-filers took it as a personal affront, and said it was proof that the mayor didn't have their backs.

The heat has subsided in recent weeks. NYPD unions dialed down the rhetoric. De Blasio did some outreach, away from the camera's glare.

And now we have another police video, one that gives us a valuable insight into what NYPD officers do every day, as part of the normal round of doing their jobs.

It involves some NYPD officers coming to the aid of a gunshot victim outside the Richmond Terrace Houses in New Brighton.

Police said the 37-year-old victim, who was shot in the right leg, was unconscious and unresponsive in the street when they arrived on the scene.

The person who filmed the video, identified only as Elliott, said that police were on the scene about 90 seconds after he heard the volley of shots ring out.

Then Sgt. Samuel Carrion began performing chest compressions on the victim while Police Officer Jessi D'Ambrosio elevated the victim's leg and applied pressure to the wound, the police said. Another officer signals an arriving ambulance with a flashlight.

Police Officer Daniel Slevin and Police Officer Andrew Zimmerman, who is also an EMT, were also part of the response.

After a minute or so, the officers step back and the EMT crew takes over.

The victim's condition was at first deemed as critical, but was soon upgraded to stable. Maybe the cops' quick actions had something to do with that.

Police afterward swarmed the area, knocking on doors in an effort to find the gunman.

Again, nothing spectacular. Just a couple of cops doing their job. But an important reminder of just what the men and women in blue do for the City of New York, day in, day out.

For all the criticism that the NYPD gets, rightly and wrongly, it's just as important to point it out when cops do the job right.