The archaic toxicity of cop "turf"

The Times Union Media Group of Albany published a story yesterday about four Troy, NY #policeofficers who harassed two members of the New York State Police last December. They surrounded the pair with their patrol cars and spotlighted them, one officer reportedly telling them they didn't "belong" via his PA system.

LINK TO STORY: https://bit.ly/3UQjbPZ

The incident bothers me to my core, and my response to it won't sit well with some #cops. Too bad. We can do better. Every police officer deserves better.

As a young #journalist chasing crime fighters and firefighters, I saw this type of behavior, and I didn't understand it. When I became a #sheriff's deputy in rural Livingston County, NY, then a #policeofficer in Greece, NY, I watched it happen repeatedly and shook my head. In the wake of 9-11, my feeling was such behavior largely subsided.

It lingers still.

As retired lawenforcement with 27 years on the job -- still an active #police instructor -- I just don't get it.

Particularly in these times.

Our profession faces unprecedented physical attacks on the street. It suffers financial and political retribution by misguided elected leaders and legislatures. Civilian "accountability" boards staffed with social justice "warriors" propelled by community activists continue to malign law enforcement under the guise of work, all while pushing anti-police rhetoric online.

In New York State, criminal justice reform makes the job more difficult for everyone, regardless of agency, authority, or where you work -- street, office, courts, jail, probation, parole, prison, or university campus.

Yet SOME #policeofficers still think that for the sake of some misguided concept of "pride," they can afford to draw the line at their jurisdictional borders and repel their own like some medieval fiefdom. In the case of the Troy Police Department -- a smaller department pushed against a larger agency with greater jurisdictional authority, resources, and certainly now, more respect.

Is there any surprise that FOUR officers harassed TWO troopers? The toxicity of THAT transcends every personal and professional aspect of the job.

These officers didn't come up with the turf concept on their own. We all know it was passed on to them by someone -- a family member or friend already in law enforcement, some salty cop at the academy, perhaps a field training officer or supervisor, or just by some hardened culture within the agency. I won't say it is the culture OF the agency.

This is NOT the time for ANY police officer to stand against their own. And it's certainly not the time for some outdated alleged "team" concept that damages the profession.

It's archaic, parochial, territorial, and illogical. Grandstanding over "turf" serves no legitimate purpose. It doesn't belong on the street between beats, sectors, units, or individual cops. It has no place between commands, departments, or agencies. Whether a member of an agency of one or several thousand, pick pride for the profession over that of yourself or your agency.

Take ego out of it.

All credit is due to Troy Police Chief Daniel DeWolf, but it's unproductive for him to claim there's "no lasting effect." That presumes the public is naive and everyone involved will move on. Better to acknowledge there remain elements of a throwback cop culture. Better to give a nod to the human element -- the sort of behavior his people demonstrated against their own is the type of rejection that leaves both personal and professional scars. At an agency level, as well.

Some cops will reject this diatribe. There will still be some who want desperately to belong and allow themselves to be indoctrinated by an unprofessional turf culture. Their attitudes and approaches to the profession will continue to endanger cops on the street and jeopardize inter-agency cooperation, even in investigations.

Whether I needed help or was the one providing backup, I didn't care who the officer was, where they worked, what uniform they wore, what training they received, the color of their skin, or their politics ... they were a brother or sister cop in need, or they were coming to cover my back. That's all that mattered.

We need to make a specific, concerted effort at every level. It's time to stamp out this outdated turf concept, starting with the police academy, following up in field training, reinforcing it on patrol, and cementing it as policy in Command.

To all members of the New York State Police, on behalf of the grown-ups in the room, I apologize for the morons in our midst.

One team. Always.

#backtheblue #RochesterNY #newyorkstate #buffalo #buffalony #syracuse #syracuseny #binghamton #binghamtonny #adirondacks #hudsonvalleyny #newyorkcity #NYC #lawenforcement #newyork #criminaljustice