Read on Twitter
To get a fuller picture of policing in America today, I sought out stories of ‘good apples’ who put their duty above loyalty to their peers, or even their own personal well-being. I collected some of these stories for @TheAtlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/what-police-departments-do-whistle-blowers/613687/
In 2017, an off-duty @Chicago_Police officer shot an unarmed and non-threatening autistic kid (who had been reported missing) -- then tried to charge the *victim* with assault on the basis of a false report. Det. Isaac “Ike” Lambert refused to go along: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/what-police-departments-do-whistle-blowers/613687/
In 2016, @WeirtonCityGov Officer Stephen Mader responded to a call about a mentally distressed man in danger of harming *himself.* Cops were called to save his life. Mader was committed to doing this, despite the man's efforts to commit 'suicide by cop': https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/what-police-departments-do-whistle-blowers/613687/
In 2013, cops in Auburn were assigned a quota of 100 ‘contacts’ per month. Collectively, this amounted to 72k ‘contacts’ per year, in a relatively quiet town of 50k. Officer Justin Hanners spoke out against the policy and declined to comply: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/what-police-departments-do-whistle-blowers/613687/ @JusticeAuburn
In 2006 @CariolHorne was planning retirement after 19 years with @BPDAlerts. She arrived at a crime scene to find a colleague choking a handcuffed black man while her peers stood idly by. She pulled the offending officer off the suspect and was assaulted: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/what-police-departments-do-whistle-blowers/613687/
Horne's assailant was not punished. He would continue to assault other cops, choke other handcuffed black people, and to give false reports/ testimony to conceal his own crimes and those of his peers. He won promotions and retired with a full pension: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/what-police-departments-do-whistle-blowers/613687/
The Atlantic essay covers a handful of cases, but there are.... so many more. For instance, there is the story of Shanna Lopez, quickly purged from the @DallasPD after exposing a ring of sexual abuse and exploitation among her fellow officers: https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2007/june/how-a-rookie-exposed-a-ring-inside-dpd/ @DMagazine
I was shocked at how many incidents I came across of good cops standing up to misconduct and malpractice – and getting punished and pushed out rather than lauded or rewarded. Here are several more, for instance: https://www.ranker.com/list/police-department-whistleblowers/brent-sprecher
Just the tip of a really depressing iceberg
Just the tip of a really depressing iceberg
Previously, for @TheBaffler, I highlighted how common police wrongdoing is, and how extraordinarily difficult it is to hold bad cops accountable – criminally, civilly or professionally -- even for blatant misconduct and malpractice: https://thebaffler.com/latest/brutal-force-al-gharbi
However, often lost in the discussion about bad cops and their victims are officers like Lambert, Horne, Mader, Hanners and Lopez who tried to do the right thing and were punished or purged for it: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/what-police-departments-do-whistle-blowers/613687/
100% -- we need ways to better identify and expel bad cops, and ensure ‘bad apples’ can’t just get their jobs back through arbitration or simply move to a different precinct and spread corruption there: https://thebaffler.com/latest/brutal-force-al-gharbi
However…
However…
We also need better protections and incentives for those who push back against corruption, malpractice and abuse. Rather than holding them up as a model for others to follow, the system often ‘makes an example’ out of these cops. This must change: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/07/what-police-departments-do-whistle-blowers/613687/
