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Tag: police culture

  • Police vs. Occupy Wall Street

    Turns out I dohave a few thoughts about police and Occupy Wall Street. Read all about it on Slate.com:

    If cops could wave a magic wand, the protesters would simply go away. But if cops could wave a magic wand, the whole damned city would probably disappear. Police relate to the demoralized employees in the film Clerks: “This job would be great if it wasn’t for the fucking customers.” Occupy protests are certainly seen as a nuisance, but this is more work-related than deep-rooted ideology.

    I’m also quite pleased to get Lucky Pierre in the lede.

  • Cop Think

    A pretty fabulous op-ed from a retired NYPD Captain on ticket fixing and police culture.

    Like any other profession, police work is subject to evolution. This situation is just the latest in a never-ending world of transition.

    I accept that. But let’s not pretend we’ve suddenly discovered some major moral rot deep in the heart of the NYPD.

    Fact is, recently introduced technology prevents summonses from being simply “pulled out of the box.” Almost all of the incidents being investigated occurred prior to the computerization of summonses. So the culture was already in the process of changing.

    Should these cops be punished? Yes, all extended courtesies are a calculated risk, and they lost. So be it.

    Should they be arrested? Stripped of their pensions? If it’s outright bribery, okay, no problem. If it’s drug-related, goodbye, who needs you.

    But most of these cases don’t fit into those categories. And many of those who now stand in judgment of these cops, both internal and external to the NYPD, either did the same exact things or have been beneficiaries of similar “courtesies”: That’s where the hypocrisy is repulsive.

    I never fixed any tickets as a cop. But it’s not like the people I gave tickets to had any clout. The idea of fixing tickets is less in the Baltimore police culture than NYPD culture. I would have done what I could for a friend… but not for a “union card”. And there was no “formal” system I knew of (ie: you could contact the individual officer, but it wasn’t like the FOP had a formal system.).

    When I was new in Baltimore. Like the day I moved in, I got a ticket for parking in a normally legal place near the Greek church that was going to be the scene of the annual Greek Fest. It was an honest mistake. Miss Mary, my wonderful Greek-American landlady (I miss her, rest in peace), hailed the well known Greek-American cop who patrolled Greektown. I moved my car. She explained the situation to Nick. And he ripped up my ticket.

    I thought that was good policing.

  • RIP Officer Henwood

    RIP Officer Henwood

    Oh, jeeze, I wish it didn’t have to end this way.

    San Diego Police Officer Jeremy Henwood’s last act before being ambushed and killed by a suicidal gunman was to buy a 13-year-old boy cookies.

    For real.

  • Don’t bash the ‘stache

    It’s weird there is such a thing as a “cop mustache.” Most cops don’t have them. But some do. From 10-66, Unusual Incident.

  • I’ll smoke to that

    I just got this gem of a line from a police officer who just turned in his retirement papers: “This job is like cigarettes–hazardous to your health, addictive, and occasionally strangely satisfying.”

  • Probation for Baltimore Officers

    These were the two officers who stranded two 15-year-olds far from their home. They were not the first officers to do this. They may be the last. (My earlier post.)

    From the Sun:

    [Judge] Doory said the fact that Johnson was left in Howard County without shoes “stood like a monument” in the middle of the case and remained inadequately explained. “What I don’t understand is the ‘why,’” Doory said. “I can only conclude that this was done for fun … or as homage to the legends of the good old boys, or was a convoluted attempt to teach someone respect.”

    Or perhaps all three.

    While I admit this activity is awfully hard to defend, I’m still not convinced it’s always wrong. Especially given the alternative of arrest, CBIF, going through the system, and a criminal record.

    Like the espantoon, shooting at fleeing felons, drinking at the American Brewery, and “keying” up your radio, this venerable Baltimore police tradition is probably history.

    Despite the judicial slap on the wrist, the officers still risk being fired. I say cut them some slack. If the powers that be don’t want this to happen anymore, bang down hard if there’s a next time.

  • “I swear to uphold…”

    When I was a cop, I rather enjoyed swearing to uphold the constitutions of the United States and Maryland. It seemed like quite an honor. (Even if the actually oath was done very matter-of-factly in some cubical by a woman who didn’t seem to care. And honestly, I’ve never read the Maryland Constitution.)

    Oath Keepers is an organization set up to persuade America’s police officers and soldiers to refuse to carry out unconstitutional orders. Fair enough. But somehow it’s considered controversial and right wing.

    There’s an interesting interview with the founder, Stewart Rhodes, in Reason magazine.

  • Were those the days?

    It what might be end of a long (and glorious?) Baltimore police tradition, two officers were convicted of misdemeanor for picking up two 15-year-old boys and dropping them off far from home, one of them barefoot. The officers were acquitted of far more serious kidnapping charges.

    These officers were certain not the first police officers to pick up trouble-making youths, and, rather than dragging them through the juvenile justice system, decided a fearful two-hour walk home would be more effective punishment. (I never saw this first hand, but I heard many such second- and third-hand stories.) Such shenanigans certain fall under then category of “informal justice,” but it was never clear if it was illegal discipline. Is a long lost walk good punishment all of the time? Certainly not. But might it not be the right punishment some of the time?

    I’m all for (legal) alternative sanctions. One time I guy in my squad caught two kids throwing and breaking bottle early in the morning. We were a few months out of the academy and the kids were “gigged” with push-ups (ironically that is what we learned in the academy). Was this punishment technically legal? Probably not, but I thought it was one of the smartest thing I ever saw this officer do. A little discretion can go a long way.

    [also published at The Agitator]

  • Faith and the Badge

    NYPD Sergeant (and Cop in the Hood fan) Martin Browne is interviewed about being Catholic and being a cop. It’s a good interview.

  • Riot Police Drinking on the Job…

    …isn’t such a big deal in France. Or maybe now it is. Either way, seems like the French attitude (the Italians do pretty much the same) is much healthier than our own American attitude toward alcohol.