NYPD Duh
A Chinese restaurant deliveryman was trapped in the elevator for about 80 hours while the NYPD searched the entire apartment complex, not realizing that an out of order elevator might be the reason for the poor guy's disappearance. All he needed was one astute cop to wonder "Hey, maybe we should check this out." That's what happens on t.v. and in the movies, right? But in my line of work, I've dealt with some cops who might actually have been part of the search party...
1. A few years ago, one of our clients disappeared. We filed a missing person report with the local precinct. We gave information to the detective about his usual hangouts. We told them that he was extremely ill and might be in a hospital or arrested under an assumed name. Two weeks later, I'm reading the police blotter in the local paper. In it is a story about how my client was arrested and sent to a hospital for observation. I wait a few days to see if the detective calls to say that he found him. Nothing. I call him. He tells me that he hasn't read the paper. So I fax to him the copy of the article. I see my client and am told that no police detective has come by to check up on him. This is why I place little faith in filing missing person reports. Unless you're a child or a white woman, the police don't really put much effort into locating you, even if someone tells them that you are ill. What ultimately kills me about this story is that the detective probably got credit for finding him...
2. A few years ago (again), I executed a warrant to have a client be taken before a judge to determine whether or not he should be hospitalized. The cops came and we all went to court. The judge ruled that the guy needed observation in the local hospital. The only problem was that when it came time to go, the cops who orignally came with me had been told that they were being sent somewhere else. Another cop was called to help me, but he didn't have a car. He happened to be on a scooter when he got the call. So he called for a car. We ended up waiting in court for three hours before one finally came. Meanwhile, my poor client was handcuffed the whole time. Actually, thinking back on it, he probably had the best time while lying on the bench.
3. We had this one client who was a big problem, doing drugs and just threatening people on and off. Finally we had it one day. We called the cops. The guy left the building but was hanging around the block. When a patrol car finally came to the building, we pointed out to them that the guy was hanging out at the corner. He saw them and then began to walk away. The cop at the steering wheel said: "I'm not chasing him. Give us a call when he comes back to the building."
4. On a related story, we had another client who was also harassing some people. One of my staff saw a patrol car drive by. He hailed it down. He said that the guy might have a knife. The cops told him: "We're from another precinct. There's nothing we can do. You have to call 911."
5. We had another client who was heavily into heroin. When he was high, he was a real problem. After we sent him to the hospital one day, we came across about two bundles of heroin (about ten packets to a bundle). We isolated the room and called the cops. The precinct sent two cops to pick up the bundles. We were so sure that they were going to arrest him and that would save us the problem of closing out his case. To this day, they have never sent a detective to question us and he was never arrested for possession.
I like cops, actually. Most of the dealings we have with them have been very positive. But like any large organization, some cops just don't want to do their job. The department's motto is "Fidelis Ad Mortem," which means "Faithful until Death." I don't expect them to die for us, but a little sweat and common sense might be appreciated.
1. A few years ago, one of our clients disappeared. We filed a missing person report with the local precinct. We gave information to the detective about his usual hangouts. We told them that he was extremely ill and might be in a hospital or arrested under an assumed name. Two weeks later, I'm reading the police blotter in the local paper. In it is a story about how my client was arrested and sent to a hospital for observation. I wait a few days to see if the detective calls to say that he found him. Nothing. I call him. He tells me that he hasn't read the paper. So I fax to him the copy of the article. I see my client and am told that no police detective has come by to check up on him. This is why I place little faith in filing missing person reports. Unless you're a child or a white woman, the police don't really put much effort into locating you, even if someone tells them that you are ill. What ultimately kills me about this story is that the detective probably got credit for finding him...
2. A few years ago (again), I executed a warrant to have a client be taken before a judge to determine whether or not he should be hospitalized. The cops came and we all went to court. The judge ruled that the guy needed observation in the local hospital. The only problem was that when it came time to go, the cops who orignally came with me had been told that they were being sent somewhere else. Another cop was called to help me, but he didn't have a car. He happened to be on a scooter when he got the call. So he called for a car. We ended up waiting in court for three hours before one finally came. Meanwhile, my poor client was handcuffed the whole time. Actually, thinking back on it, he probably had the best time while lying on the bench.
3. We had this one client who was a big problem, doing drugs and just threatening people on and off. Finally we had it one day. We called the cops. The guy left the building but was hanging around the block. When a patrol car finally came to the building, we pointed out to them that the guy was hanging out at the corner. He saw them and then began to walk away. The cop at the steering wheel said: "I'm not chasing him. Give us a call when he comes back to the building."
4. On a related story, we had another client who was also harassing some people. One of my staff saw a patrol car drive by. He hailed it down. He said that the guy might have a knife. The cops told him: "We're from another precinct. There's nothing we can do. You have to call 911."
5. We had another client who was heavily into heroin. When he was high, he was a real problem. After we sent him to the hospital one day, we came across about two bundles of heroin (about ten packets to a bundle). We isolated the room and called the cops. The precinct sent two cops to pick up the bundles. We were so sure that they were going to arrest him and that would save us the problem of closing out his case. To this day, they have never sent a detective to question us and he was never arrested for possession.
I like cops, actually. Most of the dealings we have with them have been very positive. But like any large organization, some cops just don't want to do their job. The department's motto is "Fidelis Ad Mortem," which means "Faithful until Death." I don't expect them to die for us, but a little sweat and common sense might be appreciated.
posted by Alan at 11:47 AM
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