Friday, December 3, 2010

Internal affairs are sordid ones

From the Village Voice:

Earlier this year, the Voice uncovered a troubling pattern of how the NYPD operates, relying on secretly recorded tapes to show that street cops are under intense pressure to achieve seemingly contradictory goals set down by their superiors. Years of recordings, lawsuits, and testimonies by active and retired police officers reveal that Ray Kelly's police department has been on an intense program that punishes innocent bystanders while intimidating and harassing actual crime victims.

We've heard relatively little, however, about the NYPD wing that is supposed to be watching for these kinds of injustices: the Internal Affairs Bureau. Until now.

More officers have come forward, telling the Voice that the secretive police-department-within-a-department is as troubled as the rest of Kelly's operation. To illustrate this, we will look at three unrelated Internal Affairs cases: One involves a Queens woman who says she was stalked, harassed, and impregnated by an NYPD sergeant; the other, a veteran detective stuck in a dead-end job requiring him to watch surveillance video all day; and the third, a gay cop in the Internal Affairs Bureau itself who faced constant harassment over his sexual identity. (The NYPD did not respond to detailed questions about these cases.)

Taken together, the three cases highlight several themes about the current Internal Affairs Bureau.

For one, all IAB complaints are supposed to be confidential. That rule is necessary because police officers who complain about their colleagues can and do face retaliation. But the reality seems to be that an officer's home command will find out fairly quickly that an Internal Affairs complaint has been made. Several officers have complained to the Voice that shortly after they filed complaints with Internal Affairs, their home commands knew about it and then pursued various types of retaliation against them.

Second, whether big or small, IAB cases seem to plod through the system at the same snail's pace. There doesn't seem to be any mechanism to deal quickly with a minor case—an office dispute, for example. Thus, cases drag on, and aggrieved, frustrated cops turn to the courts to resolve their issues. That, in turn, costs the city more money in legal bills and settlements.

Third, it's impossible—even for the people who file the complaints—to find out what was done and what happened with a complaint. Internal Affairs investigators often don't return complainants' phone calls.

Fourth, it seems that often, very little happens with a complaint—and it takes a long time not to happen.

Finally, the system is fairly capricious, and its decisions are often puzzling. In two cases with similar circumstances, one detective might be allowed to retire without charges, while another might be charged and face termination. And because of the insular nature of today's NYPD, it's not likely you'll find out why. Police officers who fall out of favor are just as likely to receive an unfavorable assignment as face a charge—a point made by a former departmental trial commissioner now in private practice.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Police are the same all over the world.

One measure of a civilized and Just society is how tightly police are controlled by it's citizens.

http://gothamist.com/2009/03/12/nypd_paid_35_million_to_settle_laws.php


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollen_Commission

..And if you are old enough:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knapp_Commission

Anonymous said...

The Voice needs to take a lesson from the situation with WikiLeaks and shut their fucking mouths already.

Anonymous said...

Thr truth hurts, doesn't it?

Anonymous said...

The Voice needs to take a lesson from the situation with WikiLeaks and shut their fucking mouths already.

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Yea censorship is always more important than the TRUTH.

Anonymous said...

Periodically there is a need for corruption investigation commissions like Knapp. What goes on in these days in some parts of Qns needs a look-see by non-department lookers.

Anonymous said...

"The Voice needs to take a lesson from the situation with WikiLeaks and shut their fucking mouths already."

I'm about as right-of-center and pro-cop as the next guy, but your statement is downright dangerous. every entity needs a looking into, an audit, an effecitve internal watchdog, at least every so often. Things might not be as bad as a paper like the voice makes them to be, but bad shit happens, all the time and every where. You can't compare a legitimate investigative article with leaking sensative government information.

georgetheatheist said...

"Sunlight is the best disinfectant." - Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

Anonymous said...

I'm about as right-of-center and pro-cop as the next guy, but your statement is downright dangerous. every entity needs a looking into, an audit, an effecitve internal watchdog, at least every so often. Things might not be as bad as a paper like the voice makes them to be, but bad shit happens, all the time and every where. You can't compare a legitimate investigative article with leaking sensative government information.

I'm also with you on being to the right and pro-cop, but I also agree that the VV needs to take it down a notch. It's fine for them to investigate. But their publicizing it only breeds contempt and ill-will above and beyond what already exists towards the NYPD. Corruption is no good, nor is the blatant exposition of it.

Anonymous said...

I'm also with you on being to the right and pro-cop, but I also agree that the VV needs to take it down a notch. It's fine for them to investigate. But their publicizing it only breeds contempt and ill-will above and beyond what already exists towards the NYPD. Corruption is no good, nor is the blatant exposition of it.
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Boy are you in for a reality check when you remove your head from your ass and see the light of day!!! The only hope of saving our society from the direction of dictatorship is exposing lies and misdeeds. Got a problem with that? I hear Russia and China have vacancies for your kind!

Anonymous said...

This is only the tip of the iceberg.
it gets worse.

this reporter has been doing a a series of articles on police officers who have clashed with the brass. Right now there are multiple big money law suits that the tax payers will wind up paying for.

no doubt those who make up the famous
blue wall of silence will be threatened by exposure.

another dirty secrets is that many cops are alcoholic/drug addicts. stoned people are out there in the streets, legally enabled to carry firearms. by an agency that could care less about it's employees. NYPD brass let cops work who have wet brains.

another secret- the suicides by NYPD officers. most recent was an Internal Affairs employees.

Big Hairy Balls said...

I respect police officers, their job is dirty, dangerous & frustrating. That being said we all need to insist on transparency within all law enforcement agencies. When an officer has deviated from the expected protocol there must be methods set in place to root out the problematic personnel.End welfare! Death to the Palestinians! Long live Israel! Long live free speech!

velvethead said...

When hirings and promotions are based on diversity,taking presidence over an individual's intellegence and capabilities... you reap what you sow.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't the NYPD cost New York City (correct me if I'm wrong) 600 MILLION dollars a year in lawsuits?

Anonymous said...

"Doesn't the NYPD cost New York City (correct me if I'm wrong) 600 MILLION dollars a year in lawsuits?"

But how much do they save?

Anonymous said...

The names were changed to protect the GUILTY!

Time's Up said...

Once again, I think I've entered the Twilight Zone.

You would think that anyone who appreciates our Constitution and relishes the thought of living in a "free" society would salute the Voice for doing what real journalists are supposed to do.

Actually, that's accurate - anyone who does understand the brilliance of our ideals has to salute the Voice.

On the other hand, the authoritarian lemmings amongst us will curse them. It's OK for the cops to be the crooks; for those who're supposed to protect us to be allowed to skirt the very same laws they're supposed to enforce.

I've heard of experiments where Americans are given the list of rights in the Bill of Rights (but w/o any indication that they are actually the first ten Amendments) and are asked to state which they think should apply in the US. A surprising number of people reject many of them!

I suppose my authoritarians above would be in that category.

Anonymous said...

some of the recent people who have attempted to "skirt the laws" that the rest of us adhere to: ......TAX CHEATS;

CONG.C.RANGEL,MAYOR D. DINKINS, SEC. OF TREASURY T.GEINTHER,AL SHARPTON,WESLEY SNIPES,FORMER SENATOR FROM S.DAKOTA AND DEMOCRAT MINORITY LEADER,TOM DASCHLE....ETC. ETC.

Gary Ackerscam said...

CONG.C.RANGEL,MAYOR D. DINKINS, SEC. OF TREASURY T.GEINTHER,AL SHARPTON,WESLEY SNIPES,FORMER SENATOR FROM S.DAKOTA AND DEMOCRAT MINORITY LEADER,TOM DASCHLE....ETC. ETC.
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What am I? Chopped liver?