dgbaker
05-16-2005, 03:28 PM
-Playing Russian roulette with suspects.
-Lying on the witness stand.
-Stealing bags of smack from dealers and using them to bribe junkie snitches.
-Aggressive cops working on the city's meanest streets commit these crimes and many more on a regular basis - all in an effort to stay one step ahead of the bad guys, a controversial new book by a retired NYPD cop contends.
"I knew these were crimes I was committing daily. But I'd do it again and again," Robert Cea writes in "No Lights, No Sirens".
He claims while the rule-bending and "testi-lying" - lying on the witness stand - weren't taught in the academy, they were tacitly encouraged by police brass and city prosecutors looking to reduce crime and keep their caseloads moving. "I have a quick learning curve," Cea, 42, told the Daily News.
Cea said he "testi-lied" in more than 100 of 500 felony arrests he made between 1982 and his retirement in 1994.
-Let big drug dealers walk so they can act as informants - even if the junk they sell spurs murders.
-Look the other way when any kind of marijuana is found. The paperwork is long and tedious, and the charge is only going to get tossed or dropped down to a misdemeanor.
-Lie to suspects, allowing them to think confessing on camera will lead to a light sentence.
-Personally cook up heroin for your informants if you need information for a bigger arrest.
Cea became a decorated cop during his 12-year stint on the streets of Brooklyn, mostly in Red Hook and East Flatbush.
He retired in 1994 after he was investigated for the murder of one of his informants. He was ultimately vindicated.
-Lying on the witness stand.
-Stealing bags of smack from dealers and using them to bribe junkie snitches.
-Aggressive cops working on the city's meanest streets commit these crimes and many more on a regular basis - all in an effort to stay one step ahead of the bad guys, a controversial new book by a retired NYPD cop contends.
"I knew these were crimes I was committing daily. But I'd do it again and again," Robert Cea writes in "No Lights, No Sirens".
He claims while the rule-bending and "testi-lying" - lying on the witness stand - weren't taught in the academy, they were tacitly encouraged by police brass and city prosecutors looking to reduce crime and keep their caseloads moving. "I have a quick learning curve," Cea, 42, told the Daily News.
Cea said he "testi-lied" in more than 100 of 500 felony arrests he made between 1982 and his retirement in 1994.
-Let big drug dealers walk so they can act as informants - even if the junk they sell spurs murders.
-Look the other way when any kind of marijuana is found. The paperwork is long and tedious, and the charge is only going to get tossed or dropped down to a misdemeanor.
-Lie to suspects, allowing them to think confessing on camera will lead to a light sentence.
-Personally cook up heroin for your informants if you need information for a bigger arrest.
Cea became a decorated cop during his 12-year stint on the streets of Brooklyn, mostly in Red Hook and East Flatbush.
He retired in 1994 after he was investigated for the murder of one of his informants. He was ultimately vindicated.