Former Cop (Ashamed)

A former cop shares just a handful of the reasons that relying on strangers funded by stolen money for your protection may not be in your best interest. 

I had a 25 year career as a cop near Phila – suburb town. It is difficult to list all that is bad about police departments. There are some good people – many bad ones from top to bottom. Running rampant are ticket and arrest quotas, case fixing for the right people. evidence planting, and manufacturing probable cause for arrests with no actual evidence. Bribes were used in many ways – from local judge to sporting events or time on a lawyers boat for future case fixing, money from tow companies to ensure their services would be needed, boxes of booze from local bars, free dinners at top notch restaurants and exotic dancer dates. Theft of evidence was common – drugs, money, electronics: anything that came in to the station as evidence was fair game.

Example: fraud credit card case – a few items purchased. A warrant would be served at a house for the items, but also taken would be anything the cops want, claiming it must be stolen. Later, the person would be told that s/he might get break if they cooperate, but cannot get their stuff back. The people are usually too scared of jail to protest. Cops then share the laptops, desktops, furniture, jewelry, barbecue grill, cameras, bikes, video games and on and on… and nobody is the wiser. The chief and lieutenant are also involved, so no problem. 1/3 of the cops are on steroids, marijuana, coke, or speed in moderate form. Many more are alcoholics. There are all these things, plus the civil rights violations, racism, trading sex for charges dropped, sex on duty – even in the car, and reports trashed that could be problematic.
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Specific examples would fill a library. I was a part of it, but not too deep. I tried to keep some dignity. I saved people from bad arrests, and paid for it. I am retired now from the hypocrisy, which I would love to present in memoir form – or maybe a book? I feel I need to purge myself.