Whether you are a police officer, firefighter or anyone else who should care about their reputation and the reputation of the organization they represent, there are some important lessons from the video below. The first is that cameras are everywhere and they will likely capture you doing what you wouldn’t want shared with the rest of the world. The second is try not to be a dick when doing your job. All of this will come back to haunt you as it has for NYPD Detective Patrick Cherry.
Not heeding these lessons has cost Cherry a plum assignment on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force just two days after this confrontation occurred. NYPD Commissioner William Bratton has put Cherry, a 15-year member of the department, on desk duty while this is being investigated. But it appears Commissioner Bratton has seen enough to provide an opinion:
“No good cop can watch that without a wince,” Mr. Bratton said on Wednesday, in announcing that the officer had been placed on modified duty. “That officer’s behavior reflected poorly on everyone who wears our uniform.”
He said the officer’s behavior “violated every one of the tenets that we are attempting to teach at the Police Academy.”
Following an investigation, the review board will determine whether the officer committed any misconduct, including discourtesy or using offensive language. If the board substantiates the allegations, it will recommend what discipline the officer deserves. It is possible that the matter could lead to a departmental trial. The police commissioner is the ultimate arbiter of any final discipline, which can include a loss of vacation days or dismissal.
Detective Cherry has been the subject of 12 previous complaints to the review board, city officials said, dating to 2001. Some involved similar allegations. A spokeswoman for the board would not disclose the dispositions of those cases.
