Crime and Justice

A Union Scandal Landed Hundreds of NYPD Officers on a Secret Watchlist

After prosecutors flagged hundreds of cops caught fixing tickets for friends and family a decade ago, the officers’ work was supposed to get an extra level of scrutiny. Some cases fell apart anyway.

By Jake Pearson for ProPublica (Oct. 22)

One judge said she believed the testimony of a Bronx defendant’s 64-year-old mother more than that of the two New York City police officers who arrested him.

Another said she didn’t buy the testimony of an officer and his colleagues, concluding that they had stopped a car not because they’d seen its occupants break any laws but because it was driven by “three young men of color.”

A third jurist toyed with using the word “perjury” to describe the testimony of an officer who repeatedly contradicted himself, claiming, for example, the defendant had both told police and not told police where he lived.

In each of the cases, the officers’ testimony was supposed to help prosecutors secure convictions against people charged with illegal gun possession. Instead, the cases fell apart, done in by the officers’ own dubious statements. Yet prosecutors had pursued trials knowing there was reason not to put these cops on the stand.

Read more at: https://www.propublica.org/article/a-union-scandal-landed-hundreds-of-nypd-officers-on-a-secret-watchlist-that-hasnt-stopped-some-from-jeopardizing-cases?

Reporters Desk

Recent Posts

County to Protect Medi-Cal and CalFresh Access for 1.7 Million Residents Amid New Federal Work Requirements

The motion also calls for the expansion of workfare and volunteer opportunities across county departments…

17 hours ago

Governors Briefs: CalRx® Insulin, $11 a Pen, Will Soon be Available and Appointment Announced

This launch marks a significant step in the state's ongoing effort to lower prescription drug…

18 hours ago

Purdue Student Paper Shows Solidarity With Rival

  After the Indiana University Media School fired its director of student media and banned…

18 hours ago

POLA Lead Attorney Steve Otera Named Corporate Counsel of the Year by LA Business Journal

  LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Business Journal has given a top legal honor…

19 hours ago

Ports Briefs: POLB Cargo Slows as Clean Truck Study and Air Quality Report Highlight Progress

The Final 2024 Class 8 Drayage Truck Feasibility Assessment Report focuses on battery electric and…

22 hours ago

Public Health Investigating Possible Local Spread of Clade I Mpox; Third Case Confirmed in Los Angeles County

So far in 2025, Public Health has reported 118 cases of clade II mpox.

2 days ago