Police Corruption: What's Your Story?

Intro

Yesterday, I put together a post, Stupid Dirty Cops Got Caught, responding to a KopBusters episode in which Barry Cooper, former law enforcement officer, set up a legal grow operation consisting of two mini evergreen trees in an effort to catch a very dirty Odessa, TX police department.

As I visited other sites looking for details, I came across comment sections of very, very delighted citizens who actually felt some level of vindication at seeing these dirty cops get caught committing crimes. Next, I started seeing individuals respond with their own stories of police corruption or the typical over-the-top police arrogance. It would seem the comments went from cheers to cheers and anecdotes (stories) to just anecdotes to angry anecdotes of police corruption.

While I am far from surprised at the concept of police corruption as I do live in New York City, police corruption central tied with Los Angeles, I am surprised at the amount of first-hand accounts of such corruption. It's so rampant and pervasive that it's affecting everyone and disproportionately affects African Americans and Hispanics. More and more, we can add people Middle Eastern descent with Arab or Muslim sounding names to that list.

What's your police corruption story?

Here's My Story

I've already written my own: The 48th Precinct of the Bronx, NY are PUNKS. It's in five parts because it's very exhaustive and as detailed as I can get it. Click on the links to take you to my true story of police corruption.

In short, I was arrested for "disorderly conduct" and "inciting a riot". Supposedly, I did all of this while watching five police officers beat an already handcuffed guy, named Clinton, who didn't stand more than 5 feet 5 inches. I watched, after he was beaten bloody and thrown into the cruiser, another officer squirt a 5 sec long stream of pepper spray into his face as he lay there in the back seat.

Why was I arrested? Because, I told the officer to stop. No! Because, I witnessed the entire thing while in my second-floor bedroom, still in my underwear. Unfortunately, the case didn't go any further than a few court dates while the DA tried to get the lying officer to testify, which he didn't. But, that's my story. I want to hear your own.

Comments from Reason.com [link]

Tracy Cooper Jr. | December 6, 2008, 2:15pm

This is awesome. It's going to be fun to watch these cops try and explain this.

jasno | December 6, 2008, 2:19pm

I think I speak for everyone when I say:

Fuck. Yeah.

J sub D | December 6, 2008, 2:57pm

Radley, for all the times you've ruined my day, I unreservedly forgive you. Thank you ever so much for calling this beautifully executed sting operation to my attention. I will be e-mailing links to people about this and encourage others to do the same. Odessa is not unique.

REMEMBER KATHRYN JOHNSTON!
FYI: Kathryn Johnston is.. was a 92-year old grandmother (born in 1914, died 2006) in Atlanta, shot to death by police during a drug raid of her apartment. Later it was found out that the informant tip used to obtain the search warrant was a fabricated The officers were indicted on charges of murder and burglary. [Links: 11Alive | WSBTV | CNN]

mc | December 7, 2008, 11:55am

As a rural WV resident, I have seen some of the worst police corruption in the country. Our cops and politicians do things that would make dirty vice in big cities look like girl scouts. Off the top of my head, I can think of a cop who shot the town mayor in a "hunting accident" because the mayor was going to clean up the police, my sister's best friend and boyfriend getting pulled over no less than 10 times in one day because she was divorcing her cop husband; multiple cops who are having affairs with and supplying drug dealers while falsely imprisoning innocent people to go down for the crimes; cops' families doing pretty much whatever they want including breaking the speed limit by 40 miles in a residential neighborhood, killing a beloved family pet and keeping on driving; and, one of the worst situations, a cop making an illegal turn at a very high speed, slamming into people obeying all traffic laws on a motorcycle, paralyzing the driver, and ONLY getting 2 weeks of desk work as a result. In another part of the state, a cop shot a man point-blank in front of his entire family, for "killing your kid" in what was actually a tragic, unavoidable boating accident.

I would LOVE for them to take on the cops back here...although I wouldn't put it past them to kill the guys, though...

Abdul Alhazred | December 8, 2008, 2:38pm

Might as well weigh in with my own stories of local police corruption, there is a certain officer from my hometown who has been "suspended" from TWO different police forces. My experience with him was when he targeted my brother for harassment, he claimed he found a marijuana seed in his car once, which promptly disappeared. He had been known for beating people up for not "showing him the respect he deserves," he jerked one of the local teachers' husband out of his car, threw him on the ground and put his boot on the back of his head because he had a rifle in the back seat of his car (extremely normal in this part of the country) Anyhow, my mother was one of many to go in and try to complain to the chief of police, she was told that "they get a little rowdy sometimes, but they're good boys" and "now, they're just hot-doggin' they're good boys."

Anyhow, he "resigned" from the local police force when they came under pressure from some of the prominent families in town, without any official action whatsoever, and he took a job on the Rolla police force, where he was just suspended for beating up a woman (in her 70's) for asking to see his ID when she pulled him over.

Oh, and he has a body-count, he beat one man so severely that he died, and threw another face-first into a puddle where he drowned.

Chuck | December 8, 2008, 12:12pm

As a practicing lawyer I can tell you that COPS LIE. They lie on the street, they lie in their homes, they lie on camera and they lie in court. Nothing is ever done about it, and it is unlikely that anything ever will until we can get the word to the citizenry in a message that they can understand. I had the pleasure last year of showing a video to the jury proving that all six of the cops testifying in the trial were lying, which resulted in my client's acquittal on two first-degree felony counts. We do not often get lucky enough to find that kind of evidence, so we need other methods of getting the truth out. In that case, despite damning evidence of perjury, the District Attorney did not even investigate. She knows who gets her convictions for her. However, just this year she had a woman indicted for perjury who accidentally checked the "No" box on a jury form asking if she was a US citizen. The fact is that when your top-cop (District Attorney) is a criminal, nothing will ever change until the citizens rise up against the corruption.

I have friends who are cops. They may be good cops, but I am not sure. The fact is that they seem to be good people, fun to hang out with, etc. But I don't feel that I can or ever will trust them professionally. They are cops.