Bad Cop, Good Job

Every so often a police officer who commits a crime will go on trial -- and inevitably be acquitted. Juries and judges have shown that they just don't have the internal fortitude to send criminal cops to jail.

And that's just for the cases that go to trial -- as we know, in the case of Eric Garner, the cop who murdered him didn't even face charges.

Very often, after the bad cops beat the legal rap, we hear that they'll face "internal discipline" or "possible termination." The idea being peddled to the public is: Okay, bad cops won't go to jail -- can't do that, it'll kill police morale and harm law enforcement moving forward, cops in jail will be living prey, it's just too dangerous -- but they'll get fired so they won't menace in a badge anymore so we can all -- pun intended -- breath easier. 

But that almost never happens. Bad cops very often stay on the job for a long, long time. Eric Garner's murdered remains on the force nearly four years later.  

Why?

Buzzfeed has just published a long, bombshell report on how the NYPD protects its worst actors. It has designed internal systems and processes to make sure that no bad cops suffer consequences for their actions. 

It's the kind of thing that, depending where you sit, you either find infuriating or reassuring. But it shows that accountability in law enforcement and NYPD practices remain, even in the late second decade of the 21st century, very much stuck in the past.