by Jennifer C. Hunt

I’ve watched the first episode of Blue Bloods, the new T.V. drama about several generations of a family who are mostly members of the NYPD.  We learn that one brother was murdered while working undercover investigating a secret gang of dirty cops; that his detective-sibling rescued a kidnapped girl in time to save her life because he used waterboarding to get a confession out of the dirty old man suspect regarding her whereabouts. We also learn that this detective has fought in Iraq and is probably suffering some sort of trauma, a biographical tidbit that provides an extra rationalization for his use of torture. Then we meet the “liberal” sister who’s a district attorney and can’t excuse or justify  her brother’s actions so easily. The youngest sibling and newly graduated police rookie is cornered by federal investigators and asked to continue the investigation of the secret society of dirty cops on behalf of his dead brother. Along with all this action that distorts what police do and turns it into superficial drama and NYPD spin, there are an abundance of irritating technical errors. If Tom Selleck is supposed to be the Chief of the Department (he’s referred to as Chief, not Police Commissioner), then why’s he wearing a suit rather than his uniform in almost every scene except at Madison Square Garden when he’s addressing the graduating recruits? If he’s supposed to be the PC and not the Chief of the Department, why was he wearing a uniform with four stars instead of a suit in the graduation scene. Police Commissioner is a civilian title. Why is his father, who’s still on the job although he looks as thought he’s passed the mandatory retirement age, also wearing a uniform with four stars. There’s only one four star chief in the NYPD and that’s the Chief of the Department. The program’s token political correctness is grating; the best shooter in the academy class is a  female officer; the daughter of the Chief of the Department (Sellick) is a district attorney and not a cop; the youngest brother went to Harvard so there’s plenty of educational as well as ethnic and racial diversity; and all the female officers in the first episode are beautiful as is the district attorney.  To sum up my first impression of Blue Bloods, I REALLY REALLY MISS THE WIRE.

The Adrian Schoolcraft business is out of control. For those who aren’t familiar with events, Schoolcraft is the NYPD police officer who taped supervisors encouraging cops to downgrade crime, meet “productivity goals” (quotas), and otherwise take action that would make the command look good at CompStat meetings downtown. The orders appeared to emanate from folks at the top of the chain of command.  A posse of NYPD Emergency Service officers led by Chief Mike Marino (and possibly a deputy commissioner) barged into Schoolcraft’s home, told him they wanted to take him back to 81 precinct where he worked. Marino claimed he was worried about him. They were worried about why he’d gone AWOL and left work an hour or so early. Apparently he didn’t sign out in the log book or get his supervisor’s signature on the required paperwork. If this was the case then the Department had a reason to be concerned. When Schoolcraft told Marino that he left because he wasn’t feeling well and wouldn’t accompany the police back to the 81 precinct, Marino apparently concluded he was an EDP (emotionally disturbed person) and forcibly removed him from his house or apartment. From the perspective of a commander, a normal cop obeys orders and doesn’t just walk off the job. A normal cop also answers the door on the first few knocks. The police drove Schoolcraft to Jamaica hospital in Queens where he was locked up inside a psychiatric ward for six days although he didn’t appear to have suicidal thoughts or hallucinations and was “calm and not agitated” according to hospital records.

This incident raises many questions

l. How does the NYPD define crazy and who is Schoolcraft? Does crazy apply to someone who refuses to obey what he feels are troublesome orders by superiors; as someone who dares to tape record in a police precinct without consent of the Police Commissioner, Internal Affairs, or the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information; or as someone who believes that the job should be on the level and gets upset when it’s not and he comes to realize that what he learned at the academy isn’t precisely practiced on the street? Instead of “lying low” and doing what he’s told, he makes waves about informal practices that he finds morally problematic and, in so doing, puts his bosses at risk and embarrasses the Department. Alternatively, Schoolcraft might be a “do nothing” who doesn’t want to work hard and is using any excuse he can to get away with doing nothing. Maybe he’s a manipulative borderline who’s out to sue the department and make a lot of money (see  www.copinthehood for Peter Moskos’ take on the whole situation). In terms of the Department, at least, Schoolcraft doesn’t act like a “normal” cop and thus presents a major problem for the Department. Is he stable and should he be wearing a gun is an important question.

2. Chief Mike Marino – How’d you get involved in this? My guess is you decided that Schoolcraft is one of your Brooklyn cops and therefore you had to carry the burden rather than put it on the shoulders of some one else. You’re a good man. You’ve had a lot of experience dealing with troublesome cops in the 77 and 75 precinct, although Schoolcraft is hardly the typical “thug” cop who sometimes comes to rule the nest in very rough houses (precincts). I understand your frustrations and the pressure you must have been under to handle this from above. I hope that you survive this ordeal with your career intact.

3. Why did psychiatrists at Jamaica hospital admit Adrian Schoolcraft if he didn’t appear a danger to himself or others? Do hospital psychiatrists normally admit patients for six days based on the “facts” as presented by police?  What was the official account to the psychiatrists or hospital staff? Did someone from psychological services in the Department provide a reason for the psychiatrists to admit Schoolcraft and when and how were they involved then or before? Did the police tell the truth as they understood it or did they make up a story to justify his incarceration and get Schoolcraft temporarily out of their hair?  Marino’s a hard charger. He’s also a straight shooter without an evil bone in his body.  I suspect that he told the truth as he saw it although a higher ranking commander may have been present to dress the account.

4.Maybe it’s time to admit that the NYPD doesn’t have total control of crime; that maybe it’s time to increase the ranks in uniformed patrol and reduce the numbers staring at computers in inflated counterterrorism divisions inside. Until the last few years, CompStat did not include the detective division and only required Captains and other unit or precinct commanders to account for crime in their commands and explain what they were doing to reduce the numbers. Now CompStat has been extended to include Lieutenants and even sergeants, providing picayune details about the activity of officers in particular platoons. What else can these supervisors do but ask their officers to find summonses and make arrests even in circumstances when it’s not a good idea? CompStat has also infiltrated the detective division and is destroying what was a great job there that involved serious police work, commitment and skill.Ultimately those who have pushed CompStat to this extreme are responsible for the Schoolcraft mess while good men like Mike Marino are left to take the fall. The irony is that CompStat has long ceased to be about controlling crime and protecting the public. Instead it’s become a way for particular Police Commissioners and their right hand men and women to justify their existence and make their administration look good in the eyes of the public and press. Morale is far lower than it’s ever been and the job’s turned into a numbers game that has little to do with good policing.

In an article published today entitled “The Terror Translators,” Alan Feuer of the New York Times writes about the NYPD’s Intelligence Division, “a unique experiment in breaking traditional law-enforcement boundaries, comprising two dozen civilian experts – lawyers, academics, corporate consultants….” With the exception of a few brief words he quotes from Christopher Dunn of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Feuer appears to have swallowed every little tiny tidbit of Commissioner Ray Kelly and Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence, David Cohen’s self laudatory “spin” about the unit’s accomplishments, ignoring the internal problems (cops in Intel generally consider Cohen an arrogant CIA transplant who doesn’t belong in the NYPD), the tensions between the FBI and the NYPD, and the trampling of the rights of peace loving citizens who have been and are still objects of overzealous spying reminiscent of something that doesn’t resemble democracy. Cohen even managed to antagonize local police departments when he sent his “Intel” detectives to watch protest groups without telling the locals they were there.  Let’s not forget about the Intel detectives that have been sent abroad, duplicating the efforts of the U.S. law enforcement agencies who are assigned such tasks. What about the terrorist case that Kelly and Cohen nearly botched more than a year ago. Feuer even exaggerates the NYPD’s accomplishments in regards to the Time Square incident of the summer. I mean I’m glad to hear that there was a gathering of Intel bodies after the the van caught fire …. but really!!! The NYPD didn’t have much to do with saving us from a terrorist attack. In fact, in that incident, there was evidence the Departments anti-terrorist policies weren’t working very well. We’ve got a lot of cops from different units assigned to that area at any one time and no one noticed anything unusual before the vendors alerted the police to the smoke. I owe that observation to retired Intel cop, Keith Ryan, who is in Seven Shots. So please Mr. Feuer -  I mean are you a reporter or a mouthpiece for the Kelly administration? I love the NYPD. That doesn’t make me believe ever bit of hype that is screened for release by Paul Browne, Deputy Commissioner, Public Information.