When 16 police officers were arraigned at State Supreme Court in New York City yesterday, more than 100 of their uniformed colleagues loudly denounced their prosecution and held a protest in the courthouse.
The unsealed indictments contained more than 1,600 criminal counts, the bulk of them misdemeanors having to do with making tickets disappear as favors for friends, relatives and others with clout. But they also outlined more serious crimes, related both to ticket-fixing and drugs, grand larceny and unrelated corruption. Four of the officers were charged with helping a man get away with assault.
Are the police confusing their power to enforce the law with some self-arrogated right to be above the law?