flotsam = the criminal who killed the police officer?

Context:

Eric R. WilsonBrooklyn, NYReport Inappropriate Comment. Vulgar . Inflammatory . Personal Attack . Spam . Off-topic ..SubmitCancel .
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..First, thank you Officer Figoski for your dedicated service to my fellow NYers and me. Rest in peace. Second, my heartfelt condolences, love, and prayers to Mrs. Figosiki and their four daughters. There is truly nothing I can say that will comfort them as the sun rises on the most horrible morning of their lives. All of this shock, heartache, confusion, disbelief, and encroaching grief, because of the flotsam we live around. I pray that the second perpetrator is swiftly apprehended, and he and his accomplice never, ever see their first flower in Spring, their daughter's marry, or enjoy a beer with buds after another shift.

More:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/12/officer-shot-and-critically-wounded-in-brooklyn/?hp