Saturday, October 22, 2011

Right To Remain Silent

From June 1, 2008, until October 31, 2009 NYPD officer Adrian Schoolcraft secretly tape-recorded his superiors at the 81st precinct ordering cops to downgrade felonies to misdemeanors as well as make unnecessary arrests.



Made without the knowledge or approval of the NYPD, Schoolcraft taped 100s of hours during his time in the 81st Precinct.

The story broke in 2010 when The Village Voice (here) began publishing segments of the tapes and interviews with Schoolcraft.

Since the story of Schoolcraft's tapes broke, the top commanders of the 81st precinct have all been given departmental charges and/or been transferred.

The follow-up to the Village Voice five part series was done by NPR's Ira Glass who interviewed Graham Rayman of the Village Voice and Adrian Schoolcraft and it is here.

Throughout the NPR piece you will hear Graham Rayman refer to "CompStat" and it is CompStat that drives CMDP numbers as well.

Ira Glass: And finally, with the 81st precinct under new supervision, the numbers on serious crime have risen by 10-15%. Are the crimes going up, or it is just closer to the true amount of crime that was already there, only now being recorded?

Cedar's Take: Listening to this one hour broadcast I couldn't help but think the whole thing sounded a little too unbelievable, just like the many stories I've heard from CMPD Officers.

If you don't believe your ears, then you can read the entire transcript which is here.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cedar!! You don't mean to imply that they've been cooking the books at CMPD, do you?!!
I'm shocked!

Certainly the City Manager, Mr. Walton, Mayor Foxx, and City Council members like Barnes, Mitchell, Howard, and Turner would be concerned about such a lack of integrity!

It would certainly reflect badly on all of them if they all turned a blind eye on CMPD's leadership, now wouldn't it?!? Just sayin'...

Anonymous said...

Rouge cops aren't just on the street, they are in command positions in Charlotte as much as in New York.

Charlotte just has more than our fair share.

The story of Adrian Schoolcraft is common place. Capt Pless could be Schoolcraft if you changed his accent.

The corruption in NYPD is no different than CMPD. CompStat makes everyone crazy, paranoid and number driven rather that results driven.

The only way it will change is when RoMo is gone.

Someone on he said 12 months in other words just after the DNC2012.

Anonymous said...

Cooking books is what the City of Charlotte does best, when you want one of their receipes,beyond what you can find in "public" information, doesn't matter if it is CMPD, CMUD, etc, they know they are protected because the tax payer does not have the funds up front to retain the attorney fee to get those records, even though in the end, the City would have to pay all of it, thus tax dollars at work to block, then tax dollars at work to pay ALL the end result, the City has more bank, no individual can challenge

Anonymous said...

I think maybe certain people should be worried, 'cause you NEVER KNOW who is wired...do you?

So if they don't tell the truth, oh well ! ;)

Anonymous said...

like I said before, every officer should know: NC is a one-party state. Record, document, record. Email. Haven't you had enough of lowering your own personal ethics?

Anonymous said...

The worst thing that came out of the NYPD due to this incident was that now commanders aren't stupid enough to say that they want the books cooked directly. You will never hear a supervisor at CMPD say they want crimes classified lower directly. They dance around it and keep the fact that they may have to explain themselves in the back of their minds. The push now is on BS arrests, and "numbers" which means any low level ticket that would have resulted in a warning 10 years ago now gets a pink slip.

Anonymous said...

cops taser a little colored kid to death at a food lion, kill a cell phone worker in cold blood at a cell phone tower, cook the books to make themselves look better, beat up their lesbo girlfriends, and when someone fights back and takes down one of the cowards in blue, we are all supposed to say boo whoo. Most folks say good ridance

Anonymous said...

Excellent post Cedar.

A couple of things, don't forget CMPD's chummy relationship with the NYPD guys via the "Blue Hornets" Baseball Team.

I just read this from a week ago.

http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-10-05/columns/spinning-out-of-control/

"Commissioner Ray Kelly's most trusted adviser, Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Paul Browne, has been called out for playing fast and loose with the truth in four separate high-profile cases."

Hey Rob are you guys related?

Anonymous said...

There surely are real similarities in the current profiles of these two Departments.

It is frightening.

City Council and Curt Walton should realize there are real consequences to their turning a blind eye to what is so obviously going on. They are not untouchable for their lack of supervision and ignoring what is going on. They have been told...over and over, so cannot claim ignorance.

Anonymous said...

Imagine, responsible journalists in both articles.

Actually reporting on the corruption and exposing it.

I would not even use the CO in an Outhouse.

Anonymous said...

How can Charlotte's City Council members not say anything? Why in the world would they allow Charlotte to be come a corrupt mirror image of New York and Washington DC?

Anonymous said...

Anon-October 22, 2011 10:26 PM

May you be next on the radar.

Or is simple terms you understand, Go F- yourself.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure where 10:26 is coming from. Either he/she hates the CMPD or himself/herself or the world or the size of his/her whatever(s).

I don't know what the death of two perps by taser, or the tragic shooting at the cell phone tower has to do with cooking the books.

One is patrol the other command.

If command is corrupt everything else goes to hell.

Which is pretty much what we are seeing.

Anonymous said...

Let's get something straight, the majority of CMPD Officers are ethical, honest people trying to do a very difficult job...a job that Monroe and many others on Command Staff have made and are making so much more difficult.....by asking many to compromise their values and ethics. And punishing anyone that doesn't and speaking these words of wisdom "suck it up." And then starting rumors with absolute lies as to why people are "transferred", i.e...punished for not going along to get along. (Unless you hear it from that person's very mouth, don't believe what you hear).

This atmosphere has created an almost untenable situation for so many Officers who love their careers in law enforcement. Damned if they do, and damned if they don't.
The stress, I am told, is sending many to Doctors.

The truth ALWAYS comes out, because the lies and dishonesty brew like a fetid stew that will explode from the pressure.

As it came out at the NYPD.

When you can't trust or believe your "superiors", your supposed "leaders", it creates a divided, suspicious and conflicted workforce.

Do these Officers deserve this kind of PD ?

Anonymous said...

To the naysayers who claim a manipulation of data, PROVE IT! Stop your incessant whining and back it up with real facts and not some conspiratorial fantasy cooked up with anecdotal stories.

Anonymous said...

Anon 8:26:

Rob, it's funny to shout "PROVE IT" at people saying "give us the data you are illegally keeping hidden from the public so we can prove it"

funny trick when you are in a position of power and then don't follow at least the public records law, others

Anonymous said...

Fantasy?

People that have tried to get those "facts" have found themselves on midnight shift.

How about you guys "opening the books" and letting the public be the judge if it is " fantasy" or not??

It is quite impossible to PROVE without access to ALL the data, now isn't it?

Just one of Rodney's YesMen trying to make a really ame point.

No Access means No data.....open up the books and let people talk without fear of retribution.

Anonymous said...

Maybe the DOJ needs an ombudsman set up since Internal Affairs and the City of Charlotte has stated they will not do their jobs, and are clearly letting Monroe do whatever he wants.

That way nobody else has to go through what Schoolcraft is going through. Or a bunch more officers could email the bloggers now, which would be quicker and get the job done with a multi-front, unstoppable approach that can't be corrupted by politics or leaks to moles from the wrong people... just a thought. Send in more. It's helping.
Meanwhile, keep good notes. At home.

Anonymous said...

One, that gave you the data, was immediately transferred from robbery to 3rd shift patrol after everyone one in the unit was threatened with mandatory polygraphs over who leaked the information. This how they work and keep others quite.

Anonymous said...

It's illegal to transfer an officer for "leaking" truthful, public information.

That officer could and should sue the department.

That officer's fellow officers should stand up and make it clear who and what they are supporting. They should document the fact that they were illegally threatened with polygraphs for the purpose of intimidation because of the illegal, improper activities of the "superior" officers. Refuse the polygraph. Demand outside representation because of conflicts. Stand together. Isn't that what you're supposed to do?

When is enough corruption too much?

They can't go on a fishing expedition on a polygraph when you haven't committed a crime and are not suspected of a crime, but may have exposed a crime THEY committed.