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Monday, March 23, 2015

THAT “BLUE CODE OF SILENCE”, THAT’S NOT…

Over the last several years, there has been a huge surge in hatred and distrust directed at law enforcement. That sentiment has recently culminated in protests across the country, and in recent months, a HUGE increase in unprovoked assaults on officers around the country. One of the cries I often see repeated by those denigrating my profession is that cops protect their own, no matter what. I can’t count how many times I have read “why don’t good cops turn in bad cops” on social media and in reader comments on “news” sites lately. To anyone who knows better, that mantra is not worth the digital paper it was typed on.

As most cops will tell you, we (cops) dislike dirty cops more so than the public. Dirty cops not only besmirch our profession, but they destroy the trust that the public has in law enforcement as a whole. The old marketing axiom holds true in public service just as it does in retail, an unhappy customer tells everyone about their experience, a happy customer tells almost no one. The people who are either wronged, or unjustly think they were wronged, are always much louder than those happy with their service. That is just a fact of life.

I have been doing this job a long time, and from personal experience, I know the “cops don’t rat on other cops” line is nothing but hogwash, but what can I do to try and convince the average person who does not have my knowledge base. I’m not going to pretend it does not happen from time to time, but the claim that it is a rampant problem with all cops is ridiculous.

In an effort to spread the truth, I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to my own department regarding internal affairs complaints. What I specifically requested was, for the last five (5) years, the number of complaints and whether or not they were substantiated. But beyond those simple numbers, I asked to have the numbers split between public complaints filed and those filed internally, you know, the cops who always cover for dirty cops.

Here are the raw numbers:

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

maybe it's just your superiors take a dimmer view of the crooked kops when pointed out by fellow officers or the circumstances have to be so egregious that other officers find it offensive enough to report? we'll never know will we. I wonder how many of those citizen complaints would have been backed up had said officer been wearing a body camera? How many of those crooked kops went on and got jobs in other jurisdictions?
Figures lie and liars figure! I can make any set of numbers mean anything, your so called research is hogwash!
I call BS on this one!

Anonymous said...

It all depends on the administration and the politicians over them. A crooked police chief can wreak havoc on the career of an officer who tells the truth about things handled improperly in a police department. It is often easier for an officer to do and say nothing rather than risk his career by blowing the whistle. Often officers have no protection against it. FOP attorneys will only go so far until it becomes the officers responsibility to pay for his own legal bills. Municipalities have a never ending pot of money they can use to pay attorneys to cover things up. Think about it. If YOU stood the chance of losing your career - what would you do?

Anonymous said...

I know somebody that just happened to with a local palice force

Anonymous said...

And I've seen the coverups for the bad cops and the Blue Code of Silence in action numerous times. It happens on the local level, and is reciprocal on every level of police, whether it be local, county, or state. Don't even try to convince us that it doesn't happen. Just look to public record stats and see how many police, in their private lives, are charged with speeding, drunken driving, or any other traffic charges. It almost NEVER happens. Ans no one will ever belive that they don't get stopped, but are immediately let off when the badge is shown. Heck, I've ever seen a cop so drunk he couldn't stand after a single vehicle accident (ran off the road on a dual highway!), and he was taken home by his state police friends without any test or charges made. It is rampant, and it is real. This public relations crap is what is hogwash!

Anonymous said...

I know two police men who worked for Delmar Police Department a while ago who were ordered by the Chief Sailer to work overtime at a football game at the high school while on duty. He told them to collect the money while getting paid. When the Mayors found out they asked Chief Sailer. Sailer lied and said he didn't know nothing about it. The two police men lost their jobs for doing what they were told to do. If they didn't do what they were told to do they would have lost their jobs to.

JoeAlbero said...

1:41, Sailor is a scumbag and will soon be out of a job.

Anonymous said...

They poster of this article is a fool and a joke... I have seen what happens to good coos who turn in bad cops...the good cops lives get threatened and harrased.... That is why good coos don't turn in bad cops....

But let me reiterate good cios don't stand by and watch bad cops commit crimes no matter what they are...

So this cop who wrote this is hogwash....

Anonymous said...

Lol, you must be speaking of SPD! You hit the nail on the head!

Anonymous said...

Why will Saylor be out of a job soon?

Anonymous said...

He's retiring

Anonymous said...

So, the public calls for transparency, and when this author offers transparency, he is called a liar. Can't win for losing.

ginn said...

9:11PM
The only thing transparent here is the BS this LEO is trying to spread.

The fact is, LE is being used by the US, state & local gov'ts to foster their implementation of fascism on the country. And, they're [LE] so blinded by the level of power they've been handed, by the leniency they're given over their lawless acts to see they are being used to destroy our country.