Police

Reasonable Doubt

An NYPD officer were acquitted of rape today. Did I think he’s guilty? Yeah, I do. But I’m not surprised he was acquitted. (He and his partner were found guilty of lesser charges and promptly fired.) In fact, last week I predicted this exactoutcome (but just to my class… you’ll have to take my word). Why? because even I had…

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Police

Balto Tow Scandal

More from the Sun: A federal grand jury has indicted 10 Baltimore police officers and two repair shop workers…. Only 10 officers who were charged last month are named in the indictment. Seven others named in the scheme remain charged in the criminal complaint. They could be indicted later, but not taking their cases before a grand jury is typically…

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Police

Tow Me

So here’s the longer storyin the Sun. What I don’t get (there’s a lot I don’t get), is how could officers get a kick-back of $300 per car? The tow company would need to charge more than that. And the article says that approved towers are only charging $130-$140 dollars. When I needed to tow a car, it was pretty…

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Police

The old gun-check ruse…

A “dozen or more” B.P.D. arrested?! Peter Hermann of the Sunreports: a federal corruption probe that involves an improper relationship with a Baltimore towing company, sources said. … The officers were arrested today at the police academy after being called in under the guise that their firearms needed to be checked. … Multiple sources say the officers are mostly from…

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Police

Bangkok Police Rackets

If you open a bar or restaurant in Bangkok, you can expect for the local police commander asking for $500/month. “Why?” a business owner asked. “In case you do something illegal.” “What if I’m not doing anything illegal?” “Better to pay.” “I’m not paying.” We’ll see how this plays itself out. Should you want to stay open late, the first…

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Police

Oh, please!

Here’s a non-story: NYPD Commissioner Kelly didn’t disclose that the Police Foundation paid his dues at the Harvard Club. My God, who cares? Good God, Lenny, I know you hate Kelly with a passion bordering on obsessive (and that’s putting it mildly), but is this the best you got on the guy? If so, you should have skipped it and…

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Police

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…

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Police

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…

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Police

Arrests in the NYPD

I’ve always said the Blue Wall of Silence is vastly overrated (for reasons I’m not going to get into today). Do cops get away with murder, literally or figuratively? The short answer is no. Unless, of course, one counts traffic violation and illegal parking as murder. What I do find interesting is that the NYPD, as reported by Al Baker…

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Police

I got a plan. It can’t go wrong.

This story blows me away both in terms of chutzpa and stupidity. Say you’re NYPD and need some extra money. Work overtime in the three-four? Naw. You don’t play that game. Instead… rent five vans, hire 16 day laborers, and then go to a perfume warehouse in Jersey where you have a connection. Then wave your real badge and gun…

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