On Oct. 28, 16 NYPD officers have been arrested and were
arraigned for allegedly dismissing and fixing tickets for over a span of three
years. All 16 police officers pleaded not guilty and were released on bail.
The investigation started when a police officer was suspected
of being involved with an drug dealer in the Bronx, which led to wire tapping
and the discovery of other police officers involved in an assortment of
unscrupulous services, the biggest being ticket fraud.
Numerous citations that had been overlooked were typically
for family members and friends of certain police officers. According to Bronx
District Attorney Robert Johnson, $2 million was lost in NYC due to the ticket
fixing.
The three methods for abolishing the violation, according to
Huffingtonpost.com, were having them “voided by a ranking official, a copy is
ripped up before it reaches court, or the officer doesn’t appear on the day of
the summons.”
Although a majority of the police officers being prosecuted
are from Bronx precincts, the misconduct happened in other boroughs as well.
Senior Rye Rin, who worked in her father’s auto shop in
Queens stated, “At the auto shop I worked in, people always talked about having
their close friends or family who worked or had connections with the NYPD
helped get their ticket records erased.”
While some see it as fair game individually, there is a
battle between what is considered just and unjust for those who do not have any
connections with law enforcement.
“On a personal level, I would definitely want my ticket to be
dismissed. On a national level though, it’s just not right,” freshman Danny
Izquierdo said.
It’s natural to hope for one’s ticket to be nullified. In an
overall stance, the process affects plenty and almost reverses and contradicts
one of the sole duties an officer’s obliged to fulfill as an officer
distributing tickets.
“I think it is really unfair to do this, because the NYPD
should definitely treat all people equally. If I parked my car at the wrong
place and the wrong time I would pay for the ticket, it is my responsibility to
pay for my own mistakes,” graduate student Congcong Li said.
Aside from the citations, for a long time there has been the
infamous Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association (PBA) card, which has assisted and
favored many civilians in parking and speeding violations.
These special service cards are handed out by officers to
friends and families; there are only a hand-few of them, which in many cases
has veered officers away from certain illegal violations and carrying out their
responsibilities.
Since PBA cards are already dismissing and favoring many
civilians, for police officers to take further matters into their own hands
toward citizens who do not bear these cards is somewhat disruptive and unfair
to other officers in the force.
“I don’t think dismissing tickets are fair, but it happens.
It is no secret that the NYPD is corrupt and I think that it should be
corrected immediately, despite those cards they give out,” sophomore Alexandra
Newton said.
“Taking care of your family, taking care of your friends, is
not a crime…To take a courtesy and turn it into a crime is wrong,” Patrick
Lynch, President of the Law Enforcement Union, stated to a Gannett press
release.
Last fall, NPYD Commissioner Raymond Kelly enforced the
department to rectify the computer system that tracks down distributed tickets.
The system will detect and prohibit officers from practicing such methods used
to interfere with quotas according to The Anchorage Daily News.
Taking advantage of authority power is not unheard of, but
with the recent events, the NPYD may be put under close watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment