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Police Corruption Report

Decent Essays

In 1994 a report by the Mollen commission on police corruption in New York exposed disproportionate corruption within the department. Violent crime, including gang type activity, cops in uniform routinely storming drug locations and stealing narcotics, money weapons and whatever they felt like taking. On duty police officers riding alongside drug dealers, providing protection while the dealers carried big amounts of drugs and cash. The commission also found cops who became drug dealers themselves starting up their own drug dealing networks and delivery centers. (Neighborhood Explanations) Although most officers are honest and hard-working, the Mollen report exposed serious, violent activity by some in the department. The report …show more content…

They blocked traffic to the Brooklyn Bridge, shouting racial slurs at the public and the mayor at the time, joined in. In an incident right after the City Hall protest, as police were leaving, several off-duty officers, all in civilian clothes, assaulted a man on the subway who had stepped on one of the officer's feet. The man claimed that he apologized but that the officer attempted to punch the man. The man cut the officer with a razor blade and the other officers, six of them, beat him viciously. (Police Brutality). Several witnesses directly complained to the police department. Consequently, two of the officers were charged with felony assault, one was convicted of a misdemeanor charge which led to the officer's being let go of his position. As with most major cities like New York's police department, it has gone through many scandals involving corruption and the use of unnecessary force. A widely admired reformer and Police Commissioner Patrick Murphy, tried during the early 1970s to hold supervisors responsible for the abuses of officers under their control and to put into place an early warning system to help recognize officers who have committed human rights violations. He tried this following the 1972 Knapp Commission report revealing major corruption. …show more content…

The Mollen Commission report noted that "police unions and fraternal organizations can do much to increase professionalism of our police officers....Unfortunately, based on our own observations and on information received from prosecutors, corruption investigators, and high-ranking police officials, police unions sometimes fuel the insularity that characterizes the police culture."(Local Political Culture) The report found a difference of concern for the unions, which protected the interests of individual officers and support the larger interests of their members, finding that, ironically, the PBA "does a great disservice to the vast majority of its members who would be happy to see corrupt cops prosecuted for their crimes and removed from their

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