I have read several posts from cops frustrated over the current status of the job today, particularly recruitment and the quality of recruits. I was starting
to feel it in the years before I left. It all started with Rudy and continues on. When the city was flush with cash, Rudy was giving corporations huge tax
breaks and cops got squat. Madison Square Garden for one got a sweet $500 million break, and their way of saying thanks was to block the West Side Stadium
project. Jobs and tax revenue went flying out the window on that one.
As far as having Pat Lynch apologize, I see no reason at all for him to do so. He does not recruit or investigate these guys that have been arrested for violent crimes. Applicant Investigation first and foremost is filled up with people that want to be detectives, but don't want to do the real work of an investigator. Verifying the answers on a job application at your desk is not criminal investigative work. They are actually rated on how many cases they get through. I have heard stories of investigators putting through large numbers of cases to curry favor with their bosses. One investigator, to finish up an investigation did not take the applicants fingerprints and just printed himself and forwarded it as the recruit's. But before you say this is something new, well unfortunately it is not.
The infamous classes of '68 & '69 saw their share of felons. If you get the book, "Cop Hunter" by Vincent Murano (he was an IAB undercover, so if you don't want your 25k to go to a cheese eater you may want to borrow or steal it) you will read about even crazier stories of cops committing crimes. The reason I read the book is one of the cops arrested in the book was a cop I used to ride with as a rookie. Towards the end of field training our Sgt. would send us to commands, where the desk officer would have us fill in wherever they were shorthanded. I was assigned several times to ride with a cop from the 46 (he had about 19 years on the job). He was a great guy, but he had a secret; he sold info from the FATN, sold an ID card, sold a dept radio, a full uniform, and finally a marked RMP. Shocking, but it has nothing to do with the police. There will always be those that slip through the cracks. And when the press gets their hands on it, they start screaming like the sky is falling.
The 'experts' love to blame Pat Lynch and the PBA for the shameful, paltry salary cops earn. It truly is a shame, but it a testament to the character and dedication a vast majority of cops. But as far as blame goes, you need not look further than City Hall. As much as Rudy, and Mayor Mike may talk a good game about reducing crime and their 'support' of the police in controvertial incidents, the truth is they only show that 'support' because it is politically beneficial to them. Rudy talked a great game about his 'support' of cops, but while he was mayor I never received a retro check from contract talks again. As a Detective I was forced to work 6 extra days a year. Luckily at first we could do them whenever we wanted, but some clown in 1PP decided this was no good. No, the job would decide when we had to do those extra days. And guess when they felt those days had to be done? That's right, now when you thought you were swinging into weekends, no dice. Asswipe from 1PP decided you had to work on the weekends you only saw once every 6 weeks. I would bet my house that genius had every weekend off himself.
This job will never be the same unfortunately. The job is now set up so that if you are a cop and you study and make Sgt, the cop is your enemy. They actually told new Sgts. that cops were your enemy and don't trust a cop. This mentality goes all the way up the line. The chiefs make sure they get a ton of overtime in their last year and presto chango somehow they get 3/4 for a stubbed toe in 1957. A vast majority of these guys could care less about any of us, and are never worried about the right thing. When I was in the 33Squad we had some perps barricaded in a ground floor street level apartment. They were robbing a drug den at gunpoint. The scene was surreal. You had cops taking up tactical positions behind parked cars, and we were positioned in an alley 20 ft. from the windows of that apartment. There was a huge crowd of civilians that were pushed back to St. Nicholas ave. Emergency Service was present with the big truck, and those guys were breaking out the machine guns and the ballistic door that has wheels on it to approach the apartment.
In the middle of this Chief Estevillo arrives, walks past all of the cops positioned behind cars and stood right in front of where the perps were. With his back to the windows he started to yell at the cops, "Where are your hats??? You look like a bunch of ambulance drivers with no hats!!!" (The cops had their hats off and some had theirs backwards for tactical reasons). I will never forget the disgusted look on the patrol Sgts. face when he got up and walked away from his position to get a stupid hat. We yelled to the Chief he was standing in front of where the perps were and realizing his mistake ran like a chicken with the Colonel after him. All of this in front of a about 100 civilians. So in a situation where it is a very real possibility any one us us could lose our lives, only our hats, not our safety matters. And if someone were killed, then of course the same chiefs would talk about how heroic you were, a great guy, hard worker, one of my favorites, yada yada yada. Hypocrite!!! If they are only worried about your hat in a possible gunfight, I just could not imagine there being any concern whatsoever for you making 25k.
As long as the job makes supervisors the enemy of the rank and file this job will continue to be intolerable. As long as the people at the highest levels of this department hold us in contempt this is what it is going to be.
So just remember, Pat Lynch has nothing to apologize for. Just hang in there and stay safe. And if there are anymore bank robbers out there, wait till you retire before resuming your activities. Remember, you can get your pension in jail.
As far as having Pat Lynch apologize, I see no reason at all for him to do so. He does not recruit or investigate these guys that have been arrested for violent crimes. Applicant Investigation first and foremost is filled up with people that want to be detectives, but don't want to do the real work of an investigator. Verifying the answers on a job application at your desk is not criminal investigative work. They are actually rated on how many cases they get through. I have heard stories of investigators putting through large numbers of cases to curry favor with their bosses. One investigator, to finish up an investigation did not take the applicants fingerprints and just printed himself and forwarded it as the recruit's. But before you say this is something new, well unfortunately it is not.
The infamous classes of '68 & '69 saw their share of felons. If you get the book, "Cop Hunter" by Vincent Murano (he was an IAB undercover, so if you don't want your 25k to go to a cheese eater you may want to borrow or steal it) you will read about even crazier stories of cops committing crimes. The reason I read the book is one of the cops arrested in the book was a cop I used to ride with as a rookie. Towards the end of field training our Sgt. would send us to commands, where the desk officer would have us fill in wherever they were shorthanded. I was assigned several times to ride with a cop from the 46 (he had about 19 years on the job). He was a great guy, but he had a secret; he sold info from the FATN, sold an ID card, sold a dept radio, a full uniform, and finally a marked RMP. Shocking, but it has nothing to do with the police. There will always be those that slip through the cracks. And when the press gets their hands on it, they start screaming like the sky is falling.
The 'experts' love to blame Pat Lynch and the PBA for the shameful, paltry salary cops earn. It truly is a shame, but it a testament to the character and dedication a vast majority of cops. But as far as blame goes, you need not look further than City Hall. As much as Rudy, and Mayor Mike may talk a good game about reducing crime and their 'support' of the police in controvertial incidents, the truth is they only show that 'support' because it is politically beneficial to them. Rudy talked a great game about his 'support' of cops, but while he was mayor I never received a retro check from contract talks again. As a Detective I was forced to work 6 extra days a year. Luckily at first we could do them whenever we wanted, but some clown in 1PP decided this was no good. No, the job would decide when we had to do those extra days. And guess when they felt those days had to be done? That's right, now when you thought you were swinging into weekends, no dice. Asswipe from 1PP decided you had to work on the weekends you only saw once every 6 weeks. I would bet my house that genius had every weekend off himself.
This job will never be the same unfortunately. The job is now set up so that if you are a cop and you study and make Sgt, the cop is your enemy. They actually told new Sgts. that cops were your enemy and don't trust a cop. This mentality goes all the way up the line. The chiefs make sure they get a ton of overtime in their last year and presto chango somehow they get 3/4 for a stubbed toe in 1957. A vast majority of these guys could care less about any of us, and are never worried about the right thing. When I was in the 33Squad we had some perps barricaded in a ground floor street level apartment. They were robbing a drug den at gunpoint. The scene was surreal. You had cops taking up tactical positions behind parked cars, and we were positioned in an alley 20 ft. from the windows of that apartment. There was a huge crowd of civilians that were pushed back to St. Nicholas ave. Emergency Service was present with the big truck, and those guys were breaking out the machine guns and the ballistic door that has wheels on it to approach the apartment.
In the middle of this Chief Estevillo arrives, walks past all of the cops positioned behind cars and stood right in front of where the perps were. With his back to the windows he started to yell at the cops, "Where are your hats??? You look like a bunch of ambulance drivers with no hats!!!" (The cops had their hats off and some had theirs backwards for tactical reasons). I will never forget the disgusted look on the patrol Sgts. face when he got up and walked away from his position to get a stupid hat. We yelled to the Chief he was standing in front of where the perps were and realizing his mistake ran like a chicken with the Colonel after him. All of this in front of a about 100 civilians. So in a situation where it is a very real possibility any one us us could lose our lives, only our hats, not our safety matters. And if someone were killed, then of course the same chiefs would talk about how heroic you were, a great guy, hard worker, one of my favorites, yada yada yada. Hypocrite!!! If they are only worried about your hat in a possible gunfight, I just could not imagine there being any concern whatsoever for you making 25k.
As long as the job makes supervisors the enemy of the rank and file this job will continue to be intolerable. As long as the people at the highest levels of this department hold us in contempt this is what it is going to be.
So just remember, Pat Lynch has nothing to apologize for. Just hang in there and stay safe. And if there are anymore bank robbers out there, wait till you retire before resuming your activities. Remember, you can get your pension in jail.
