NYPD Officer Admits False Arrests to Fill Quotas | |
Seamus User ID: 854278 United States 03/02/2010 11:47 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I don't know what the Very Worst Job is for cops in the NYPD. But I'll bet by tomorrow morning officer Polanco could tell me all about it. 'When Plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men, they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.' Frederic Bastiat, 'The Law' 1850 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes." JohnSwinton, 1830-1901, Former chief-of-staff New York Times ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "The bold effort the present bank has made to control the Government, the distress it has wantonly produced ... are but premonitions of the fate that awaits the American People should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution (The Bank of the United States), or the establishment of another like it." Andrew Jackson (December 2, 1834) |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 903601 United States 03/02/2010 11:58 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | [link to abclocal.go.com] Quoting: Anonymous Coward 772253NEW YORK (WABC) -- An Eyewitness News investigation talks to a police officer who reveals the pressure they are under to make quotas. When Officer Adil Polanco dreamed of becoming a cop, it was out of a desire to help people not, he says, to harass them. "I'm not going to keep arresting innocent people, I'm not going to keep searching people for no reason, I'm not going to keep writing people for no reason, I'm tired of this," said Adil Polanco, an NYPD Officer. Officer Polanco says One Police Plaza's obsession with keeping crime stats down has gotten out of control. He claims Precinct Commanders relentlessly pressure cops on the street to make more arrests, and give out more summonses, all to show headquarters they have a tight grip on their neighborhoods. Related Content More: Need a story investigated? More: Follow NYCInvestigates on Twitter More: Get Eyewitness News delivered to you! "Our primary job is not to help anybody, our primary job is not to assist anybody, our primary job is to get those numbers and come back with them?" said Officer Polanco. Eyewitness News asked, "Why do it?" "They have to meet a quota. One arrest and twenty summonses," said Officer Polanco. This audio recording exclusively obtained by Eyewitness News seems to back up Officer Polanco's assertion of a quota. You can listen to one officer as he lectures his rank and file officers during roll call at the 41st precinct. "Things are not going to get any better. It's going to get a lot worse," said a police officer. He lays out clearly that they need to bring in the numbers. "If you think 1 and 20 is breaking your balls, guess what you're going to be doing. You're gong to be doing a lot more, a lot more than what they're saying," said the officer. In another recording, the 41st Precinct Patrol Supervisor appears to step up the pressure to write more and more summonses: "Next week, 25 &1, 35 & 1, and until you decide to quit this job to go to work at a Pizza Hut , this is what you're going to be doing till then. Do you understand?" asked the patrol officer. "He's being clear, the only choice that we have is to do it," said Officer Polanco. Eyewitness News asked, "Are you telling me they're stopping people for no reason, is that what you're saying?" "We are stopping kids walking upstairs to their house, stopping kids going to the store, young adults. In order to keep the quota," answered Officer Polanco. "Yeah, they locked us up for nothing," said Zebulun Colbourne. The Colbourne brothers say they and three other friends were the victims of quotas. All were arrested a few months ago after one of them had fallen while racing each other. Eyewitness News asked, "You fell and that's how you hurt your eye?" "Yeah, and they just wanted to arrest us. I told them I fell but that didn't matter to them," said Elijah Colbourne. All five were accused of engaging in tumultuous and violent conduct that caused public alarm, given a summons for unlawful assembly and locked up overnight. Eyewitness News asked, "So you're locked up waiting to see the judge, right?" "Yeah," answered the Colbourne brothers. Eyewitness News asked, "Then what do they do?" "We don't see the judge, they let us out the back door after they kept us for a day and some change," said Elijah Colbourne. The charges were dropped, but Officer Polanco says the patrolman still got 5 summonses toward their monthly quota. "At the end of the night you have to come back with something. You have to write somebody, you have to arrest somebody, even if the crime is not committed, the number's there. So our choice is to come up with the number," said Officer Polanco. One Police Plaza declined our requests to interview the 41st precinct commander. But, Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said, "Police Officers like others who receive compensation are provided productivity goals and they are expected to work." Officer Polanco says if they are just goals, why are officers who fail to make them, re-assigned to different shifts or relocated far from home. It's the consequences of not making the numbers or quotas, he says, that forces officers to give out bogus summonses. "I cannot be more honest than I've been. There's no reason for me to lie, there's no reason for me to get into the trouble I am, cause I just could've kept quiet and made the money," said Officer Polanco. If you have a tip about this or any other issue you'd like investigated, please give our tipline a call at 877-TIP-NEWS. You may also e-mail us at [email protected] and follow Jim Hoffer on Twitter at twitter.com/nycinvestigates Good for him. He is rebelling against the slave masters. THIS cop is an honorable man. You will see more of this in the future. Even the Police see the injustices that are required of them to impose. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 905508 Italy 03/03/2010 12:01 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Enkiz Inanna* User ID: 881474 United States 03/03/2010 12:07 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 905363 Canada 03/03/2010 12:10 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Good for him. He is rebelling against the slave masters. THIS cop is an honorable man. You will see more of this in the future. Even the Police see the injustices that are required of them to impose. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 903601Agreed. Let's hope others have the courage to come forward. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 564424 United States 03/03/2010 12:19 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 905300 Poland 03/03/2010 12:20 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I don't know what the Very Worst Job is for cops in the NYPD. Quoting: SeamusBut I'll bet by tomorrow morning officer Polanco could tell me all about it. I bet you're right. Police leadership in *many* departments stinks. Law enforcement has devolved into nothing more than a high-tech gang. Who needs ordinary criminals when you have absolutely crooked police? |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 905300 Poland 03/03/2010 12:23 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | This Cop is a hero, and should immediately be made Chief of the NYPD. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 564424Agreed. That's why it will never happen. TPTB are as dirty as raw sewage. They will only remain in power as long as they can bend honest police to the dark side. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 903601 United States 03/03/2010 12:25 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I don't know what the Very Worst Job is for cops in the NYPD. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 905300But I'll bet by tomorrow morning officer Polanco could tell me all about it. I bet you're right. Police leadership in *many* departments stinks. Law enforcement has devolved into nothing more than a high-tech gang. Who needs ordinary criminals when you have absolutely crooked police? Such is the staus quo.... But the more HONORABLE Police stand up, the lights turn on and the cockroaches scatter. Watch for higher up Police Officials begin to quit or be fired as this takes place. You will see more of this. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 757124 United States 03/03/2010 12:27 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 905260 United States 03/03/2010 12:40 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Quote: "Good for him. He is rebelling against the slave masters. THIS cop is an honorable man. You will see more of this in the future. Even the Police see the injustices that are required of them to impose." Sad part is, he'll be replaced with a young, dumb, and full of scum, anything-for-a-paycheck type. The "authorities" really have reached the point that they are the absolute ENEMY of freedom. |
Seamus User ID: 854278 United States 03/03/2010 12:41 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I don't know what the Very Worst Job is for cops in the NYPD. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 905300But I'll bet by tomorrow morning officer Polanco could tell me all about it. I bet you're right. Police leadership in *many* departments stinks. Law enforcement has devolved into nothing more than a high-tech gang. Who needs ordinary criminals when you have absolutely crooked police? The fish rots from the head down. These commissioners are nothing more than politicians with fancy uniforms. They surround themselves with the psychopaths of the department - the girls and guys who kiss ass of authority and totally despise any one in a lessor position. That cops like Officer Polanco are rare is in itself an indictment of the department. Rather than looking to hire independent self-starter types, they fill the ranks with followers. And if the leaders are corrupt, the cops will follow. *ed for typo* Last Edited by Seamus on 03/03/2010 12:43 AM 'When Plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men, they create for themselves, in the course of time, a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.' Frederic Bastiat, 'The Law' 1850 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "The business of the journalists is to destroy the truth, to lie outright, to pervert, to vilify, to fawn at the feet of mammon, and to sell his country and his race for his daily bread. You know it and I know it, and what folly is this toasting an independent press? We are the tools and vassals of rich men behind the scenes. We are the jumping jacks, they pull the strings and we dance. Our talents, our possibilities and our lives are all the property of other men. We are intellectual prostitutes." JohnSwinton, 1830-1901, Former chief-of-staff New York Times ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ "The bold effort the present bank has made to control the Government, the distress it has wantonly produced ... are but premonitions of the fate that awaits the American People should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution (The Bank of the United States), or the establishment of another like it." Andrew Jackson (December 2, 1834) |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 809244 Canada 03/03/2010 12:42 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
teamster User ID: 878454 United States 03/03/2010 01:01 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I hate to see this kind of shit. I have much respect for LEO's, but this kind of shit makes me sick. . This is a must see video......This woman describes why we have, and should protect our second amendment. [link to video.google.com] . . Rights do not require government registration, certification, or approval, and are not subject to any form of taxation — otherwise they are not rights, they are privileges granted at the discretion of the government, controlled by the government, and revocable by the government. By Brian Puckett. [link to www.geoffmetcalf.com] |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 896938 United States 03/03/2010 01:01 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 903601 United States 03/03/2010 01:04 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | Quote: Quoting: Anonymous Coward 905260"Good for him. He is rebelling against the slave masters. THIS cop is an honorable man. You will see more of this in the future. Even the Police see the injustices that are required of them to impose." Sad part is, he'll be replaced with a young, dumb, and full of scum, anything-for-a-paycheck type. The "authorities" really have reached the point that they are the absolute ENEMY of freedom. You are more then likely correct in your assumption. |
fuqua User ID: 880660 Netherlands 03/03/2010 01:18 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 830674 United States 03/03/2010 01:21 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 886108 United States 03/03/2010 01:23 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | I hate to say it. But this is nation wide. To be employed and keep a job the town or city has to bring in money. And the cops and judges and city council in alot, alot of citys and towns in the usa are fining and arresting people for next to nothing to make thier quota of money for that week or month. |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 905518 Canada 03/03/2010 01:57 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
A kinder gentler Fletch User ID: 824929 United States 03/03/2010 02:00 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
A kinder gentler Fletch User ID: 824929 United States 03/03/2010 02:03 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
Anonymous Coward User ID: 905573 Australia 03/03/2010 02:07 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | "Next week, 25 &1, 35 & 1, and until you decide to quit this job to go to work at a Pizza Hut , this is what you're going to be doing till then. Do you understand?" asked the patrol officer. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 772253"He's being clear, the only choice that we have is to do it," said Officer Polanco. Don't be so hard on yourself Polanco! You could get a job at Pizza Hut if you tried! |
vikingscool User ID: 837640 United States 03/07/2010 02:06 PM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | |
extendedping User ID: 912740 United States 03/11/2010 07:59 AM Report Abusive Post Report Copyright Violation | There is a perfectly good rational behind the system that has lead to this. As long as the police are out showing a presence in the community and being tough on minor offenses, see them as being there and are less likely to move on to bigger offenses as they get older. The downside is that when it is done too much, people lose respect for their police. If you want a reasonably well run and not too crime ridden society, is it too much to put up with a little harassment from the police? While they say they are there to "serve and protect", that is not strictly what police are for. They are there to mitigate disorder and minimize it, so that society as a whole continues to function reasonably well. Without harassment quotas, lazy people would become police and just sit in their cars all day eating doughnuts. Having harassment quotas ensures the police are out there making their presence felt. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 905518I hope you end up with a nightstick up your ass. |