“Flaking”, an allegedly common practice to boost arrest records, well known among NYPD officers, according to Stephen Anderson, a former undercover New York City narcotics detective, refers to the planting of drugs on innocent people and charge them for drug possession, in order to increase a police officer’s otherwise low, arrest quota. Anderson along with fellow police officer Henry Tavarez was busted for “flaking” four men (i.e. in this case planting cocaine) in a Queens bar, NY in 2008 in order to help his partner, who had a low of buy-and-bust arrest record and thus was in jeopardy of losing his undercover job, and be assigned to regular patrol, which he did not welcome. In a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, the former NYPD detective’s bombshell testimony, described in detail the police culture of the Brooklyn South and Queens …show more content…
Anderson, who had worked numerous years in narcotic elite units in Brooklyn and Queens, NY described how rules were broken or simply ignored and corners cut by drug law enforcement officers to achieve drug arrests or buys monthly quotas. In the two-day trial of fellow officer Detective Jason Arbeenie, Stephen Anderson who testified for the prosecution regarding “flaking” in the police units he was assigned to, stated in his testimony that his partner police officer Henry Tavarez "was worried about getting sent back [to patrol] and, you know, the supervisors getting on his case". He then added, "As a detective, you still have a number to reach while you are in the narcotics division". Two years later, the former undercover New York City narcotics detective testified in the Brooklyn Supreme Court, that the Brooklyn South and Queens narcotic squads had been framing innocent people routinely by planting evidence, in order to reach arrest quotas. “It was something I was seeing a lot of, whether it was from supervisors or undercovers and even investigators” , he recounted during his
“My crimey here think the way to go is more drugs. But I know better. I think making money is okay, but not making it just by dealing. You gotta go legit, at least for a minute. You gotta go state fresh, all the way live, if you wanna do anything worthwhile out here. Everybody thinks they can make crazy dollars, but they confused. It aint like that. I’ve seen co-caine bust many a head – they get fucked up and be clocking out after they find out they cannot find the key to understanding that mystery skied. But you know what? But-but0but you know what? They don’t have a clue. Word.” (Williams, 1989)
In January of 1990, Washington, DC, the seat of the federal government of the United States was turned upside down by scandal. While the headlines were filled with the efforts of the Bush Administration to crack down on drugs, the District's Mayor and symbol of black power against a nearly all white backdrop of authority was caught on videotape buying and than smoking crack cocaine with an exotic dancer two days before he was expected to announce an unprecedented fourth campaign for mayor. The sting was setup and carried out by a Federal Bureau of Investigation unit that had been pursing the frequent rumors of the Mayor's drug dependency.
During the seventies in New Jersey created a program that could change life in society. This program occurred only in twenty-eight cities. Government and public officials were excited about this concept. Police officials were not so much. Foot patrol made officers walk in sleet and snow. Assigned foot patrol was a way of punishment for officers. State funding of foot patrol shut the mouths of some people. Silence stopped after the “Police Foundation”(Kelling) put foot patrol to the actual test. To contrary belief this rattled some arguments in the community an...
And so comes into the question the arrest of Eduardo Balarezo by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics in in 1949. Balarezo was a prominent drug lord in Latin America. He was credited as being the sole leading distributor of narcotics specifically cocaine and heroin in the United States. He had a structured organization known as the ‘Balarezo gang’ who had set up cells in the northeastern part of the United States more specifically in New York (Gootenberg, 2011). Harry Anslinger the Director of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics was on a mission to crack down ...
On June 2, 1985, Officer Daniel Wright, of the San Francisco Police Department, was dispatched to a lumberyard where a shoplifting had just occurred. Upon arrival, a store employee informed the officer that an Asian man had concealed a bench vice in his jacket and was seen placing it in the trunk of a 1980 Honda Prelude., and when the employee attempted to question the man he quickly fled on foot. Officer Wright looked into the vehicle and discovered a bag that contained a silenced handgun. At this point a bearded man approached the officer with a sales receipt claiming that he had paid for the vice his friend had taken. Officer Wright questioned the bearded man after discovering that he had someone else's drivers' license and the vehicle plate had been switched. Wright recovered the silenced handgun from the vehicle after placing the bearded man under arrest.
In many ways, Andrew’s story is a culmination of all of the influences mentioned so far. Andrew grew up in the projects with a lightly involved father, a drug addicted mother, ended up in a group home, and fell into a life of crime. Andrew is not exactly a model citizen, but may a perfect example of what is wrong with black America. He started out early with a variety of petty offences around the time his mother died, and worked his way up to dealing drugs, serving time for a stabbing, and spending a full year “in the hole” for giving verbal threats while in prison. After spending his entire youth living outside of the law, Andrew decided to clean up around age 25, and this is where his story stops making sense. He gave up selling drugs and committing crimes, but Andrew continued to be harassed by police officers because he “fits the description. (Taibbi 101)” It turns out that he fits the description because he is black, in a poor neighborhood full of black people. There is a law in the New York Penal Code that allows for officers to arrest or detain people for disorderly conduct, and this option is exercised regularly by the police to gain the opportunity to search African Americans in poor neighborhoods for drugs or guns. Disorderly conduct can be anything from “blocking pedestrian traffic (Taibbi 102),” which means standing on a sidewalk regardless of whether or not there actually is pedestrian traffic, to making an obscene gesture at a cop. Basically, anything a person does that a police officer doesn’t like can be interpreted in court as disorderly conduct. Overbearing police action and catch-all laws do not discourage poor behavior or encourage trust from the
This documentary takes place in Newark, New Jersey. One of the most crime filled cities in the United States. Murder, drugs, and gangs fill this city. Many police officers work hard to keep their city safe and others for other intentions. This documentary shows how the police work, their tactics, and the reality of how police officers are working with the community.
The Seven Five is a documentary that frivolously reexamines the crimes of Officer Michael Dowd and his team of dirty cops. Dowd is a former New York police officer who was stationed in the 75th Precinct in Eastern New York. The film presents the nefarious deeds of these officers via original interviews with Dowd and his former comrades as they recount their crimes and explain the reasoning behind their unethical behaviors. While working as a cop, he embellished his income through criminal exploits which include stealing guns, drugs, money, and eventually he began working in drug rings selling cocaine. Dowd’s felonious activities were extremely lucrative and earned him approximately $4,000 a week. Dowd was eventually arrested in 1992,
The New York Police Department has a mission to "preserve peace, reduce fear, maintain order," and protect its civilians in their communities (NYPD, 2016). On the contrary, civilians do not see the police officers as individuals who are there to protect them because they do not trust the police officers or the justice system. In the past few decades, police officers have not been held accountable for their actions in a few incidents where a few unarmed young black males were killed by the police. Communities responded to this issue with the Black Lives Matter movement with protests nationwide to show support for the unarmed young black men who were killed by police. In response to the aggressive policing, methods of using body cameras and detailed incident reporting ...
Because police investigators are usually under pressure to arrest criminals and safeguard the community, they often make mistakes. Sometimes, detectives become convinced of a suspect 's guilt because of their criminal history or weak speculations. Once they are convinced, they are less likely to consider alternative possibilities. They overlook some important exculpatory evidence, make weak speculations and look only for links that connect a suspect to a crime, especially if the suspect has a previous criminal record. Picking Cotton provides an understanding of some common errors of the police investigation process. During Ronald Cottons interrogation, the detectives did not bother to record the conversation “But I noticed he wasn 't recording the conversation, so I felt that he could be writing anything down”(79) unlike they did for Jennifer. They had already labelled Ronald Cotton as the perpetrator and they told him during the interrogation “Cotton, Jennifer Thompson already identified you. We know it was you”(82). Jenifer Thompson 's testimony along with Ronald Cotton 's past criminal records gave the detectives more reason to believe Ronald committed the crime. Ronald Cotton stated “ This cop Sully, though, he had already decided I was guilty.”(84). Many investigative process have shortcomings and are breached because the officials in charge make
Knowles, Gordan James M.A. "Dealing Crack cocaine: A View From The Streets of Honolulu." FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin July 1996: 1-8.
Walker, S., & Katz, C. (2012). Police in America: An Introduction (8th Edition ed.). New York:
For years police corruption has been a major problem in American society but where is the line between moral and unethical police corruption, many modern movies address this vary issue. Some films portray how types of police corruption can have a positive influence on society, while others show the dark side of police corruption. Many law enforcement agents join the criminal justice with the basic idea of “justice for all,” however, most of them do not realize that the nice guy doesn’t always win. Even though there are vast amounts of movies which specifically address police corruption we will use three main movies for our argument today, mostly LA Confidential, however, also Training Day.
This book consists of many different arguments as to what flaws exist in the “Mr. Big” undercover operation, and how one’s confession to a crime when targeted through this operation could not be reliable. I have chosen to discuss two specific arguments which I feel are the most significant ones. Firstly the operation only takes place after a trial has occurred and due to lack of substantial evidence the accused is let go, and only then is it that an undercover officer begins to lure him into this so called criminal organization, they build his/her trust by giving him/her abundant of money, and once trust is gained they introduce him/her to the “Mr. Big” who will solve all his/her problems and all he has to is confess the crime to him. Given the level of inducement there is no reason for him to reject committing the crime, may it be false or not. The justice in the Mentuck case worded it perfectly as he said “ the police must be aware that as the level of inducement increases, the risk of receiving a confession to an offence which one did not commit increases, and the reliability of the confession diminishes correspondingly… (page 15, Mr. Big).
Facts of the case: Two undercover officers went to an apartment to buy drugs from someone there. Officer G knocked, and a man opened the door. The officer was about two feet away and had several minutes to look at the man, who sold him some drugs. Later an officer at the station left a picture for Officer G to look at in his office. Officer G identified the picture of as the dealer.