Case Study: Good Cop, Rogue Cop?

Rogue Cop is a 1954 film noir based on a novel by William McGivern that co-starred Janet Leigh and George Raft. The film shows crooked veteran Police Detective Christopher Kelvaney (portrayed by actor Robert Taylor) who has no qualms about taking bribes and payoffs from criminals and his brother Eddie (played by Steve Forrest) as a younger member on force who is honest and uncorrupted. Another fictional Hollywood portrayal of a corrupt cop was Denzel Washington in Training Day. Some people have compared that role to that of discredited former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Officer Rafael Perez who was part of the CRASH Unit (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums). Perez was also a major figure in LAPD's Rampart Scandal.

Cops don't usually turn rogue overnight. On most occasions there have been a series of events that made them angry at the force, at the general public, or at both. Usually these types of officers have a high number of excessive force or fellow staff complaints. They may also feel that there was excessive discipline made by their departments or adverse action taken after grievances were filed. They often have a history of tampering with evidence. These officers may misuse agency vehicles, break the speed limit when there are no hot calls, just because “they can”. They may have a history of sick leave abuse or may work a lot of overtime which can lead to burnout and short tempers. They may use steroids to get a “street edge” or other illegal substances. This type of officer often drinks heavily after work, and sometimes even while on the job. They may have domestic violence issues or other flare-ups of anger while off duty.

There have been good cops and bad cops ever since there were cops. A lot of officers isolate themselves because they feel outsiders don’t understand their lot, but I think a large amount of the general public trusts that most law enforcement do their jobs to the best of their abilities. They understand that cops do a job most people wouldn’t or couldn’t do. There is no question that there are times when all cops have done some wrong, most of the time it is not intentional, but mistakes made on false assumptions or just human error. There are other times; however, when some cops go rogue and feel they are “above the law”.

Even though he was not a cop for very long, the February, 2013, case of former LAPD Of­ficer Chris­toph­er Dorner shows the kind of damage that a criminal with a badge can do. Dorner was also a former Naval Reserve Officer highly skilled in the use of firearms and claimed he was just out to “clear his good name” after he was unfairly dismissed in 2009 when a LAPD disciplinary panel determined he lied. He accused his field training officer of kicking a mentally ill man during an arrest. His department found the complaint to be unfounded but there have been many documented cases of retaliation of employees in all fields of work after they filed complaints and grievances, so anything is possible. Much of the general public, and a lot of staff, view Internal Affairs investigations as self-serving and mostly designed to protect the interests of the administration. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck promised to review the case again to determine if Dorner was in fact treated unfairly.

There have been historical cases of officers that have been run out or pushed off agencies for a lot less. But any sympathy from some people, who've faced similar circumstances, was lost when Dorner decided to exact vengeance on people who had little or nothing to do with his case. He obviously externalized all of the blame over his dismissal when his manifesto threatened “un­con­ven­tion­al and asym­met­ric­al war­fare” against all po­lice. He went on a murderous rampage and, in cold blood, ambushed over a half dozen people killing four of them all of which had law enforcement ties. Dorner finally killed himself with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head in a cabin located in the vicinity of Big Bear, CA.

Cops from all over the country condemned Dorner, as they should, for killing innocent victims. But, the general public also saw on Facebook and other media posts that while cops were extremely outraged over Dorner’s murder of fellow law enforcement, far less cops expressed outrage about police firing on innocent civilians who were in the wrong type of vehicle. Some even spoke about it as being "collateral damage". The individuals fired upon did not appear to present an immediate threat, two of them were female, they were of a different race, and did not even remotely resemble the suspect. This type of reaction fuels the belief in many minority communities that all cops are “trigger happy”. A White man named David Perdue also claims that his vehicle was slammed and that he was fired at without just cause. Perdue also looks nothing like Dorner.

Undoubtedly those two Asian ladies, a mother-daughter team who were out delivering newspapers, and Perdue have lawyers lining up to take their case to sue and they will get paid well. But again, many Americans have publically and privately stated that they feel there is a double standard when it comes to police and the public. Many of them also feel cops always protect their own even if they have to lie about it. This may lead some people to mistakenly think that Dorner did what he had to do in order to bring light to injustices on the force. Some pro-Dorner people also blasted the "inhuman decision to burn him out” by use of force when police firing tear gas into the cabin. All tear gas canisters are flammable so it wasn't a decision to burn the cabin, just a decision to deploy tear gas to make him exit for officer safety purposes. Instead he decided to take his own life. Some even called Dorner a hero. This is a gross mischaracterization.

America has an ugly racist history and many injustices have happened to many people. Racism and injustice still exists today, but few would argue that there have been great strides in both areas over the last few decades. Chief Beck says he is reopening the Dorner case to assure the public, and especially the African-American community, that his department has left its racist past behind. All of the facts in this case will likely be reviewed as they should be for training and future improvements on police matters. The criminal justice system should always seek improvement to better assure the public that justice is impartial. But let there be no doubt, bad cops and rogue cops give the vast majority of good cops who proudly serve our communities while upholding the law and keeping us all safe, a bad name. The dead cops, and cops like them who converged on Dorner, are the real heroes and continue to be so every day.

Guest Blog: Behavior and Group Dynamics In Gangs

April 29, 2012

By Lou Savelli

PoliceMagazine.com

Gang members form powerful social connections that multiply the violence. Outlaw motorcycle gangs, organized crime, drug cartels and ethnic gangs come together for a common purpose that may start as a social thing but can evolve into something anti-social or criminal when the members who make up the gang are antisocial or criminals themselves.

Sociologists believe that a gang will take on the morals, or lack of morals, of the worst members and often exceed that lack of morals. This behavior often manifests itself in most or all of the gang's members, especially when they are together. This behavior can be explained as 'group dynamics,' which is essentially the way individuals behave when they are part of a group.

The behavior can become extreme. Such behavior is often displayed around the world during rioting. The riots that occur during or after sporting events or protests can lead individuals who may not be inclined to act in a violent manner to act in such a manner and exceed their own planned actions or expectations.

In the case of college students who usually display disciplined behavior and conformity, attendance at a post celebratory rally for their college's team can cause them to get 'caught up' in the more severe behavior of their fellow rally-goers. This can result in the usually behaved student becoming violent, undisciplined and uncontrollable.

This group dynamic that leads to bad behavior is also evident in so many of the "Girls Gone Wild" videos advertised on television networks after midnight. Individual behavior becomes elevated to the worse behavior being displayed by friends, as the crowds cheer them on with the presence of the camera and the brief opportunity for fame.

Many of these individuals, college students, girls going wild or gang members may later be shocked by their own behavior.

Several gang members have told me that they were dabbling in minor crimes such as graffiti and petty larceny before their membership in the gang but committed more serious and more violent crimes far beyond their nature and expectations as a member of the gang.  

One long-time gang member admitted to me that he never thought he could kill someone even if his life had depended on it but was involved in several gang-related murders as a member of his New York City gang. He freely told me he became physically ill during the first murder and, as he stated, 'puked his brains out' immediately afterward. Such stories were typical of the many gang members that I have interviewed during my law enforcement career and subsequent contacts.

I'm not making excuses for those individuals who typically, and as I have learned, join gangs, many members are merely followers. The hard-core members, overall, number a few in most of the gangs across the U.S. Nevertheless, the members of the gangs I'm going to highlight would easily kill someone or have already killed some or many. These gangs have shown a level of violence that may have led to their members, who were initially unwilling to reach such a violence level, become a savagely violent and callous person.

There is no excuse for someone who consciously makes the change from a person who is non-violent to someone who is violent and eventually kills with or for his gang. All are equally guilty.

Many gang members I have met, when isolated from their gang, show their true personalities. They often show signs of low self-esteem, being frightened by the thought of being alone in the streets or other traits quite opposite of the traits they show when with the other members of their gang.

These gang members can be merely frightened children who grow up into frightened adults who learn to victimize others as a way of making them feel better or committing crimes, because it seems easier than working at making an honest living. These frightened individuals lack discipline and social skills. Many have dyslexia or another form of learning disability, while others are bipolar or have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Some gang members fit the typical profile for what we would expect from a street thug. They come from dysfunctional families and lower socioeconomic and high-crime neighborhoods. There are also those members who come from solid backgrounds and middle-class neighborhoods who gravitate to gangs for popularity, street credibility, money-making or protection.

While many gang members have different personalities and traits and come from a variety of broken homes, most seem to be looking for an identity of their own or a chance to belong to something. These reasons satisfy powerful needs to an individual, especially a teenager. These needs include, but are not limited to, self-preservation, protection, love, discipline, identity, camaraderie, power, money, popularity or a chance to stand out or to get respect.

After the gang forms, it creates its own subculture that develops social standing and mores. Sociologically speaking, the gang becomes its own society for its members, while those members lose the connection to normal society and their biological or legal families.

Their goal is to maintain the function of the gang and the individual's social standing within the gang. Members may naturally fall into comfortable roles within the group. Leaders develop from those members who are usually more violent than the others or those members that are more charismatic or who have the desire to lead. Members with proven track records as risk-takers will socially end up near the top of the hierarchy of the gang. Those members who are less motivated and lack the guts of the others will take on less important roles.

Mores—moral rules and customs of a social group—develop as the gang develops. Acceptable behavior for the gang such as drug selling, drug use, shootings, stabbings, sexual deviance and other behavior become the norm for the gang.

Gang members find it increasingly difficult to interact in mainstream society. They make excuses for their behavior and blame everyone else for their failure. The more disconnected they get from society, as outlaws, the closer their connection to the gang and its mores.

This helps keep the gang's control over its members stronger. The members become more disconnected from society, old friends and real family. The activities of the gang become their normal functions. Others are viewed as outsiders and, at times, enemies. There is a lack of empathy toward others.

The gang's limited social conscience causes the individual member to find it difficult to interact with others who aren't members of the same gang. The gang becomes a job and a social function at the same time.

This article was republished with permission by Police Magazine. Sgt. Lou Savelli is the co-founder and vice president of the East Coast Gang Investigator's Association, a 23-year NYPD veteran, a former correctional officer with the Broward County (Fla.) Sheriff's and Hollywood (Fla.) PD. His Gangs Blog can be found at:  http://www.policemag.com/Blog/Gangs.aspx