4 Memphis police officers indicted after undercover investigation

This is quite disturbing, rape, kidnapping and to have so many from one department. The article touches on a policy implemented in the 90's to waive prior arrests records in an effort to boost the numbers of officers. 3 of the 4 indicted received this waiver.

Link

Four Memphis police officers have been indicted in an undercover prostitution and drug investigation.

The indictments, which were announced this morning, resulted from an investigation conducted by the Memphis Police Department’s Organized Crime Unit and Internal Affairs Bureau.

Those indicted were:

Is that common for police depts to issue waivers to recruits with prior arrest records?

I don't know if it's a common practise or not...if it is, it needs to stop.

People are distrustful enough of the police as it is...this only plays into the hands of the "the cops are our enemy" crowd.

Originally posted by JacKatMtn
This is quite disturbing, rape, kidnapping and to have so many from one department. The article touches on a policy implemented in the 90's to waive prior arrests records in an effort to boost the numbers of officers. 3 of the 4 indicted received this waiver.

Link

Four Memphis police officers have been indicted in an undercover prostitution and drug investigation.

The indictments, which were announced this morning, resulted from an investigation conducted by the Memphis Police Department’s Organized Crime Unit and Internal Affairs Bureau.

Those indicted were:

Is that common for police depts to issue waivers to recruits with prior arrest records?

Police corruption? Theres no way, I refuse to believe it. These guys were obviously framed, theres just absolutely no way that any officer of the law would conduct themselves in such a manner.

And come on, give me a break, 4 officers from 1 department? So your implying that across the entire nation there would have to be literally thousands upon thousands of crooked cops.... YA RIGHT!

Gangster, Criminal Police! How they effect you, me and everyone.

reply to post by king9072


It's obvious you have a bone to pick with law enforcement which is your right.

To me it is easy to find all the various incidents of misconduct and criminal activity by officers, combine them and then paint the whole group with a very broad brush.

Doesn't work for me, I have friends and family that serve and protect and they perform their duties without these issues, they just continue to perform what is swiftly becoming a thankless job.

My point in this thread is not to bash the law enforcement officers, it is to question a policy which appears to have backfired, and my wondering if this is a limited occurance or is it commonplace these days for depts to use a waiver such as the one used in Memphis.

Memphis has some of the most corrupt, unqualified, racist police officers in this country. I have seen officers patroling Beale Street openly drinking and some literally hammered late in the night. I was harrassed by an officer in a club b/c he found my girlfriend attractive.

Basically what is happening in Memphis is there are not enough qualified applicants to fill the positions. They are having to eliminate rules to get people qualified. The chief tried to get the rules changed so the PD could hire outside the city limits but the city councel voted against it.

This is going to make me sound racist, but a quick search on the subject, and you'll see articles from our major papers stating the same thing. Memphis political positions are all filled by african americans. The majority of Memphis is african american. The councel will not allow applicants outside the city b/c they want more african americans to be hired and the councel themselves have said that by not lowering the hiring standards or looking outside the city for applicants is racist. Janice Fullilove who is on the Memphis city council has been arrested three times in the past year for DUI's. And the Ford family (John and Ophelia) are all politicians in Memphis and I think they have been in prison from bribary charges to DUI's, etc. Point is, all politicians in Memphis are as crooked as a dogs hind leg!



[edit on 20-4-2009 by Mudman21]

Living in Memphis, I can't say i'm surprised. Our mayor is under investigation by the FBI and IRS currently. Of course he blames all of this on the "Haters" who are trying to "Keep a black man out of power". The way the city government here operates is sickening. Unfortunately nothing can be done about it, because around election day he incites the uneducated masses to vote for him because "he's from the ghetto so he knows how it is".

As far as the cops are concerned, i've had nothing but positive interaction with them, but with the way things are run around here it doesn't shock me in the least.

I really can't wait to get out of this cesspool of crime and racism.

Originally posted by JacKatMtn
reply to post by king9072

 

It's obvious you have a bone to pick with law enforcement which is your right.

To me it is easy to find all the various incidents of misconduct and criminal activity by officers, combine them and then paint the whole group with a very broad brush.

Doesn't work for me, I have friends and family that serve and protect and they perform their duties without these issues, they just continue to perform what is swiftly becoming a thankless job.

My point in this thread is not to bash the law enforcement officers, it is to question a policy which appears to have backfired, and my wondering if this is a limited occurance or is it commonplace these days for depts to use a waiver such as the one used in Memphis.

You have to understand that it is my belief that they are an essential service. The issue is that there are just as many bad apples as good apples. There role 40 years ago has been radically transformed, and I am sure that if you asked one of these people you know, that they remembered a better time for law enforcement.

Additionally, what I hope you and these family members understand, is that the actions of these bad apples DO reflect upon every member of the community. And that leads to good men, and good officers, being lumped in and disrespected like the criminal officers.

In my opinion, the good officers of the law and their supporters should be the greatest supporters of weeding out criminal officers.

reply to post by king9072


I can agree with most of your post except the just as many bad apples as good apples statement.

If that were changed to..

many more bad stories reported than good stories

I would be able to agree to that.

Yes, there are bad ones, but the vast majority are good and like you, they really want to clean out those who give them the bad reputation.

I appreciate your clarification of your stance on the matter

Now what are the odds of getting an answer to my question?

Becoming a police officer is like becoming a teacher. Yes the benefits and pension/retirement are good, but the pay stinks, and the crap you have to deal with stinks. So most people that are educated enough or smart enough, don't want to touch these type of positions. So there we have the problem. All the smart qualified people are too smart to become police officers. So we are left with these positions with no one willing to except or apply. So rules and regulations set forth years ago have to be eliminated to be able to find qualified applicants.

So, the applicants we have now are ex military or way under qualified joe blow's. The ex military type just got back from Iraq/Afg. and is still in the mindset of shoot and kill and ask questions later and the joe blow is just too unqualified and doesn't learn the law's and makes bad judgement calls and just outright breaks the law's because he's unqualified to be at his position.

Originally posted by king9072

Originally posted by JacKatMtn
This is quite disturbing, rape, kidnapping and to have so many from one department. The article touches on a policy implemented in the 90's to waive prior arrests records in an effort to boost the numbers of officers. 3 of the 4 indicted received this waiver.

Link

Four Memphis police officers have been indicted in an undercover prostitution and drug investigation.

The indictments, which were announced this morning, resulted from an investigation conducted by the Memphis Police Department’s Organized Crime Unit and Internal Affairs Bureau.

Those indicted were:

Is that common for police depts to issue waivers to recruits with prior arrest records?

Police corruption? Theres no way, I refuse to believe it. These guys were obviously framed, theres just absolutely no way that any officer of the law would conduct themselves in such a manner.

And come on, give me a break, 4 officers from 1 department? So your implying that across the entire nation there would have to be literally thousands upon thousands of crooked cops.... YA RIGHT!

Gangster, Criminal Police! How they effect you, me and everyone.

I think you are being sarcastic. You are right?????? It's pretty thick if so.

Originally posted by Mudman21
Memphis has some of the most corrupt, unqualified, racist police officers in this country. I have seen officers patroling Beale Street openly drinking and some literally hammered late in the night. I was harrassed by an officer in a club b/c he found my girlfriend attractive.

Basically what is happening in Memphis is there are not enough qualified applicants to fill the positions. They are having to eliminate rules to get people qualified. The chief tried to get the rules changed so the PD could hire outside the city limits but the city councel voted against it.

This is going to make me sound racist, but a quick search on the subject, and you'll see articles from our major papers stating the same thing. Memphis political positions are all filled by african americans. The majority of Memphis is african american. The councel will not allow applicants outside the city b/c they want more african americans to be hired and the councel themselves have said that by not lowering the hiring standards or looking outside the city for applicants is racist. Janice Fullilove who is on the Memphis city council has been arrested three times in the past year for DUI's. And the Ford family (John and Ophelia) are all politicians in Memphis and I think they have been in prison from bribary charges to DUI's, etc. Point is, all politicians in Memphis are as crooked as a dogs hind leg!



[edit on 20-4-2009 by Mudman21]

too go along with this and also not being racists just pointing out facts.....

i live about 20-25 min outside of Detroit and We have had horrible black leadership and they hire more un-qualified people for positions they are not qualified for.

it's not that black leadership is bad, it's that the black leaders who were in power were bad people and not trustworthy...ex: Kwame " I stole 7 million $ from Detroit " Kilpatrick.

Originally posted by Mudman21
Becoming a police officer is like becoming a teacher. Yes the benefits and pension/retirement are good, but the pay stinks, and the crap you have to deal with stinks. So most people that are educated enough or smart enough, don't want to touch these type of positions. So there we have the problem. All the smart qualified people are too smart to become police officers. So we are left with these positions with no one willing to except or apply. So rules and regulations set forth years ago have to be eliminated to be able to find qualified applicants.

So, the applicants we have now are ex military or way under qualified joe blow's. The ex military type just got back from Iraq/Afg. and is still in the mindset of shoot and kill and ask questions later and the joe blow is just too unqualified and doesn't learn the law's and makes bad judgement calls and just outright breaks the law's because he's unqualified to be at his position.

Agreed except that there still are some very smart educated police officers in law enforcement.

But they have to follow certain ways of doing things that start at the top.

If the leadership is solid and based on good morals and values then this stuff doesn't happen and if it does it gets dealt with very quickly.

"If the leadership is solid and based on good morals and values then this stuff doesn't happen and if it does it gets dealt with very quickly."

So here inlies the problem. Our Mayor is under federal indictment for a realestate scam. He has been in trouble with the law before. People see their leader committing these crimes and getting away them. Mayor Herrington is screaming racism nevermind the fact that he did commit this crime and probably will beat this scandal just b/c he is playing the race card and no one wants to touch that with a ten foot pole.

But what you say is correct. There are many good policemen/women on the Memphis police force. But it seems like every time I read the paper or watch the news, there is a story about a corrupt cop being arrested. And this is linked directly to the corrupt leadership and the fact that the rules for hiring at the Memphis police is about the same as getting a job at McDonalds!

i just moved to the memphis area, about 8 miles just outside memphis. and i dont know if this is good or bad. good because they got what they desirved or bad because now i know the police are corupt where i live. but i guess anywhere you go police think they are "THE LAW" and can there for abuse it. why not they inforce it so of course the should be able to break it right. remember anhorbor michigan. more cities should put these who are just as bad and those they arrest in check. just my thoughts.