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Category: Police

  • Hyper-Alertness

    Hyper-Alertness

    I was listening to my all-time favorite interviewer, Milt Rosenberg, talk to a few Chicago cops. Like most cops talking in public, this interview starts out a bit stilted, but they open up by the end.

    [I was on this show last year–my life’s dream! I’ve been listening to Uncle Milt for about 30 years (and I’m only 38). He would come on after away Cubs games and I would just listen even though I was far too young to understand all the discussion. I think he’s why I’m an intellectual. And just for the record, Milt is quite conservative (though I think he’s become more conservative over the years). But, unlike, say, Rush, he’s an intelligentconservative. Listen to this discussion about Obama to hear his show at its best…. Now if only I could figure out why my interview isn’t on their archives.]

    One of the cops, Martin Preib, wrote a wonderful book, The Wagon and Other Stories From the City. I keep meaning to write on it but haven’t (his book is not the only thing I mean to write on but haven’t). It’s great. Buy it. Read it. If you’re reading this, you’ll like Preib’s book. It’s not super light reading (published by the University of Chicago) but I mean that in a good way. The guy can write. And it reads really really well. It will stand the test of time.

    So these guys got me thinking. Brought me back to the old days (shocking to think it’s been 9 years since I’ve walked the beat).

    Here’s one thing I don’t miss about being a cop: Hyper-Alertness (I just made that term up).

    What do I mean?

    1) When you walk into a store, is your first thought, “Is the place being held up?”

    2) When you’re looking in the mini-mart fridge, are you looking in the reflection in the glass to see who enters the store?

    3) When you enter a room of strangers, do your eyes move to people’s hands?

    4) When you sit in restaurant, do you always sit with your back to the entrance, ideally with your back to wall?

    5) Do you assume that everybody is lying?

    6) Is the thought of taking a nap in a public park completely insane?

    7) Do you always carry a heavy badge and credentials?

    8) Do you feel a bit naked without your gun?

    9) When you’re off duty, does the thought of hearing these words terrify you, “I know you!”

    10) (…if you’re a cop, feel free to add what I’m forgetting.)

    If you’re a cop, you’ll say yes to all these things. These are the things that just come natural to cops. If you’re a cop, you can’t imagine doing otherwise.

    I quit the P.D. in 2001. It took about two years before I could stop carrying my badge (though during that time I never pretended I was a cop). It took anothertwo years andtaking another job (my current job) before I could ignore the above rules and… relax.

    And remember, I was only a cop for two years (and I’m a pretty relaxed person by nature).

    Being hyper-alert is part of the job. It keeps cops alive. And if you start being hyper-alert, it’s not something you can just turn off in public.

    [If you’re not a cop but happen to ride a bicycle in the city like I do, you can kind of understand hyper-alertness in a different way (at least if you’re alive to read this). Now imagine that level of alertness 24/7.]

    But being hyper-alert doesn’t make life more fun. Ignorance canbe bliss. Sometimes it’s nice to tune out. Sometimes it’s nice to put on headphones, blast techno music, and ignore everybody around you. Because if you’re not a cop, there’s a good chance that nobody will hurt you.

    And you know what? Most people can live all their lives oblivious and unarmed and die peacefully in bed surrounded by loved ones.

    I don’t miss being hyper-alert. I’m happy I’m no longer hyper alert. Though obsessionally something will trigger it.

    Does not being hyper-alert make me less safe? No doubt. But not being hyper-alert makes me so much happier.

  • Goddamn pharmacist set me up!

    Cops should not ask other people to commit crimes. Nor, legally, can they give you permission to do so. Certainly not for a felony. Seems pretty obvious to me.

    Specifically this is about pharmacists filling out prescriptions they know to be bogus so drug addicts can then be arrested for the more serious crime of drug possession. To do so would be a crime.

    Now if pharmacists really wanted to fight this fight for police, I suppose they could fill the prescription with sugar pills. Maybe that wouldn’t be a crime (but might violate some professional code of ethics). But then police wouldn’t get their drug possession charge.

    And we wonder how the war on drugs corrupts society.

    And then there’s this numnut, a Florida professor “with more than 30 years of teaching future pharmacists.” He says, “despite the fact it’s technically illegal, the pharmacist’s responsibility is to comply with the request of law enforcement.”

    “Technically illegal”? Could somebody please explain to me the difference between “technically illegal” and “illegal”?

    At least we might get a good entrapment court case out of this. Those are my fav! Hopefully somebody will say, “Goddamn setup… I’ll be goddamn… pharmacist set me up!”

  • Barry Gibbs speaks

    Barry Gibbs was framed by the Mob Cops and spend more than 18 years behind bars. He was innocent.

    This is the ten minute talk he gave at The Moth in 2006. After hearing him, I invited him to come to my classes and speak at John Jay College. He did.

    He recently got a lot of money for what happened. I wish him the best. But I still wouldn’t change places with him. It really isn’t about the money.

    Eighteen years.

    Innocent.

    I keep thinking there’s some moral to his story. That some good can come from it. But I don’t know.

    I do always show it to my classes. Maybe some good can come out of that.

  • Mobile Marijuana Dispensaries

    I enjoy watching California’s marijuana laws evolve. That’s the way we should be dealing with drugs. Delivery services are one way people are getting their weed in California (and in New York City, too, even though it’s clearly illegal here).

    I’m all for legal and regulated drugs. And yet I wouldn’t want to live next to a marijuana dispensary. Nor for that matter would I want to live next to a bar, barking dogs, cigar smokers, a child daycare center, or an older Italian couple that puts our their TV in the summer and watches “Wheel of Fortune” at high volume. But sometimes you do (I put up the latter).

    So now the anti-marijuana crowd and some police wants to crack down on the mobile weed dealers. Why? I’m not certain. Seems to me that a delivery service is the ideal way to deliver drugs. No congregating. No street dealers. Nobody gets hurt.

  • Time to Tell (IV)

    I got another email from a somebody who worked with my father. He wrote:

    Charlie took me to a book party where he introduced me to Colin Powell. On the way out Charley and I were speaking about DADT and I suddenly realized that he thought that it was going to a permanent solution to the issue. DADT was a godsend for Clinton, solving a problem that was threatening his presidency. But that is a political issue and DADT was a political solution and therefore subject to opinions, not permanent facts. I had the impression that he eventually agreed with me, but I took it as yet another sign of his eternal optimism.

    Also, Charley and I once traveled to Ft Polk where he interviewed soldiers. This was Charlie as his best: he made the lowest rank soldier feel that his opinion was as important as any generals’. He did the same with me. He once called me and said, “I am meeting with Pres Clinton on affirmative action. What do you think I should tell him?”. Wow, this was certainly elevating my rank. He also called a few weeks later to tell me about his discussion! … It was just his nature to respect others.

    I have tried to use that as a guide for dealing with others, but I am a poor imitation of your father.

    Or, as my father liked to (jokingly) remind me of what his grandfather told him, “You’ll never be half the man the old man is!”

  • Time to Tell (III)

    Lady Gaga wants “don’t ask don’t tell” repealed. That should settle that once and for all!

    I’m pretty sure my father (AKA: Charles “Who’s James Brown?” Moskos) would have no idea who Lada Gaga is.

  • Time to Tell (II)

    I received a very nice email from Rob Levinson, Lt Col, USAF (Ret). In 2007 he may have been the highest ranking active-duty officer to publicly come out against “don’t ask don’t tell.” He had kind words about my father (it says something that so many of my father’s opponentswrite me with kind words to say about him).

    After mentioning his disagreement, Levinson writes:

    But none of this should diminish the importance of your father’s innovation. Not only a wise political compromise, it was indeed revolutionary thinking. Prior to DADT many asserted or believed that there was something innate about homosexuality that made gays unfit for service. No doubt rooted in religion, culture and traditional notions of “manliness.” Your dad changed all that by saying it wasn’t a problem with them, but a problem with us and our own discomfort. As society has changed and this discomfort has lessened, we can change the policy with I believe minimal disruption. Your dad’s innovation was an important step along this path and one that did much to acknowledge the common humanity of all of us. This certainly extends far beyond the military sphere.

  • Dirt bike crashes into car. Car driver assulted.

    This dirt bike thing in Baltimore continues to be out of control. I can’t believe that 10 years after I first saw packs of these going around, they’re still a problem.

    I mean, other cities don’t have this problem. What makes Baltimore so unique?

    To ride an illegal dirt bike, especially on the sidewalk or through parks, needs to be an arrestable offense. Pursuit needs to be an option. And forfeiture laws need to be made so that people lose their bikes (and these bikes not auctioned back to city people).

    Now these are three suggestion that go against what I normally believe in. But continued tolerance of this danger is more of a risk. Baltimore’s dirt-bike culture needs to be stopped. And that will take one summer (maybe two) of aggressive enforcement.

    This is a clip from 2007:

  • Gating Baltimore Alleys

    My mom sent me this story. We were kind of talking about these alleys not too long ago.

  • Barry Gibbs gets millions

    Barry Gibbs gets millions

    When I saw the headline, “City to Pay $9.9 Million Over Man’s Imprisonment,” my first thought was, “I hope that’s not mycity.” But it is. That means a few bucks straight out of my pocket. I hate that! Especially for bad policing.

    But then I saw that the man getting the money is Barry Gibbs. I know Barry Gibbs. I like Barry Gibbs. Barry Gibbs has come and spoken to John Jay and to my classes… and for free (though I did slip him a $20 so the poor guy could at least take a taxi after talking to my classes).


    Gibbs was framed by the f*cking mop cops, Louis Eppolito and Stephen Caracappa. Gibbs was sentenced for a murder he didn’t commit. A murder he had nothing to do with. He was sentenced to 20 to life. Eventually the cops were arrested and it was clear that Barry was framed. By that time he had served 18 years.

    When the bastard cops were finally put on trial, Barry could be a bit of a showman: “Gibbs stood from his seat in the public spectator’s bench and shouted obscenities at Eppolito. As Gibbs was being ejected by Court Officers, Gibbs received the enthusiastic cheers of many of those in attendance.” He was pissed off. Wouldn’t you be? These cops had appeared in movies and made money off of books. All the while Barry sat in maximum security for nothing.

    I’m happy for Barry. I called Barry just a few minutes ago and congratulated him (and told him to be very wary of people calling him right now!).

    Now Barry isn’t getting all that money. Lawyers get a third. Taxes will take another third. But that still leaves a pretty penny.

    And I learned that Barry’s health has not been great. Prison f*cked him up. And even if it didn’t, I wouldn’t exchange 18 years of my life for any amount of money. He’s been shafted by cops and shafted by the criminal justice system. And nothing can make that better.

    But at least on this day, we’ve got something to celebrate. Here’s to you, Barry! Mazeltov!

    [update: you can hear Gibbs tell his story.]