Famed ex-NYPD officer and still NYPD persona non grata Frank Serpico, nearing 80 years old, recently wrote about how things have and haven't changed in police departments in the approximately 40 years since he put his life on the line (and nearly lost it) as a whistleblower against police corruption.
Today the combination of an excess of deadly force and near-total lack of accountability is more dangerous than ever: Most cops today can pull out their weapons and fire without fear that anything will happen to them, even if they shoot someone wrongfully. All a police officer has to say is that he believes his life was in danger, and he’s typically absolved.
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In some ways, matters have gotten even worse. The gulf between the police and the communities they serve has grown wider. Mind you, I don’t want to say that police shouldn’t protect themselves and have access to the best equipment. Police officers have the right to defend themselves with maximum force, in cases where, say, they are taking on a barricaded felon armed with an assault weapon. But when you are dealing every day with civilians walking the streets, and you bring in armored vehicles and automatic weapons, it’s all out of proportion. [...] All that firepower and armor puts an even greater wall between the police and society, and solidifies that “us-versus-them” feeling.
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Today it seems these police officers just empty their guns and automatic weapons without thinking. [...] They act like they’re in shooting galleries. Today’s uncontrolled firepower, combined with a lack of good training and adequate screening of police academy candidates, has led to a devastating drop in standards.
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The shooters, of course, were absolved of any wrongdoing, as they almost always are. All a policeman has to say is that “the suspect turned toward me menacingly,” and he does not have to worry about prosecution.
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We want to believe that cops are good guys, but let’s face it, any kid in the ghetto knows different.
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As for Barack Obama and his attorney general, Eric Holder, they’re giving speeches now, after Ferguson. But it’s 20 years too late. It’s the same old problem of political power talking, and it doesn’t matter that both the president and his attorney general are African-American. Corruption is color blind. Money and power corrupt, and they are color blind too.
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An honest cop should be able to speak out against unjust or illegal behavior by fellow officers without fear of ridicule or reprisals. Those that speak out should be rewarded and respected by their superiors, not punished.
We’re not there yet.
Politico
Frank Serpico's way forward to eliminate police corruption and establish public confidence:
Frank Serpico, 1973
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