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Post by unregistered5150 on Jul 6, 2014 19:21:16 GMT -5
July 6, 2014 BY MICHAEL J. BUTLER
The overwhelming majority of Nassau County police officers are ethical, competent and dedicated. They serve with honor and decency. But that doesn't mean reform is not required.
To understand the changing culture of the Nassau County Police department -- including inadequate supervision, the impact of politics and the conduct of some officers in the past few years -- look at its evolution over the past generation.
When I joined the department in the 1970s, it was just beginning to require college. My academy class was filled with military veterans and bosses on the street were from the World War II and Korean War generation.
Essentially there were two types of police agencies. An enforcement-style department like the one in Los Angeles emphasized strict enforcement, arrests and using demonstrative force. By contrast, a more popular service department responded to citizen complaints, provided general peacekeeping, covered school crossings and issued tickets. The Nassau department was deeply service oriented and even created an ambulance corps.
Supervision by sergeants and lieutenants was generally close. A patrol supervisor met each officer on the tour, responded to calls and ensured prompt response.
The military background of many bosses established autocratic leadership. The desk lieutenant, patrol sergeant and even the commanding officer were accountable for the sins of subordinates. An officer who shot a cigarette machine while off-duty was swiftly fired. A highway patrolman who used the gas from a police canister for his private car was charged and terminated. An infamous barbecue with beer and prostitutes led to months -long suspensions. Those who fraternized or drank were quickly dismissed. Bosses in the station house, including the commanding officer, who didn't know of the party were transferred and careers seriously interrupted.
Through the years, the organization grew and we saw it get taller and taller -- moving the higher-ups away from the precincts. As the department gained height, it also got wider. Specialized management positions were created, further isolating the administrators.
The unions discovered the power of local politicians and began to change some things that needed changing and even some that didn't. Eventually the personnel numbers began to recede in the late 1980s but the bureaucracy remained intact. Nationally, police began to "militarize" and that moved the culture away from the service approach. A cop wearing a helmet, a vest and carrying an automatic rifle at a dramatic scene became common.
Supervision became sparse in the late 1980s and early 1990s as sergeants seemed less inclined to observe and train their subordinates. Patrol supervisors who reported to me often defended an errant cop. The disciplinary process stalled and "plea bargaining" arrived. Ultimately an arbitrator who was unaccountable for an officer's behavior would determine punishment.
Times have changed, often for the better, but we must never retreat from timeless principles. There are four: supervisors must be retrained in the principles of police management, supervision and accountability; the organization must be compressed by reducing its rank structure to bring the bosses closer to the street; disciplinary charges must be adjudicated with the utmost urgency; and NCPD should restore its eight precincts in a new configuration that has two precincts each reporting to a county quadrant command overseen by a well-trained captain or inspector. Nassau is geographically conducive to four major commands (quadrants with two precincts in each).
These reforms would begin NCPD's journey in a new and promising direction.
Michael J. Butler is a retired Nassau County police captain, a lawyer and a former adjunct professor of criminal justice at the Katharine Gibbs School.
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Post by alpowell on Jul 6, 2014 19:59:19 GMT -5
I'm eager to hear what type of guy Michael Butler was, from you guys who worked with him.
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Post by lost on Jul 6, 2014 20:55:56 GMT -5
5 bucks says he was a pail. Those are the only types that trot out this type of nonsense.
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Post by overthecap on Jul 6, 2014 21:35:46 GMT -5
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Post by ncpdretired on Jul 7, 2014 8:08:01 GMT -5
The cop who shot up the cigarette machine ( paragraph #5) in Valley Stream was off duty and he quit the job. This was in the early 60's, before Mr Butlers time.
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Post by opie on Jul 7, 2014 9:11:17 GMT -5
Captain kool aide!
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Post by mrwizard on Jul 7, 2014 10:18:07 GMT -5
The cop who shot up the cigarette machine ( paragraph #5) in Valley Stream was off duty and he quit the job. This was in the early 60's, before Mr Butlers time. We had another one at a Diner in the Third in the late 70's, early 80's. He was off duty also. I don't remember what happened to him. |
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Post by bsoblack on Jul 7, 2014 15:51:12 GMT -5
I'm eager to hear what type of guy Michael Butler was, from you guys who worked with him. First, the cigarette machine was an ex 8 th precinct cop. Knucklehead. Butler was a intelligent individual with a large ego that batted heads with some of the higher ranking officers when he was in P&A. His problem he believed he was the only smart one in the department. Developed some vendetta type battles with some higher up cliques. Yes the department has cliques. That said, some of what he writes about is true and makes sense. Things work in cycles. The PBA was extremely powerful in the 90's through 2010, 2011 or so. There were many gains for ALL ranks within the department. Pay benefits etc. but work rules (good basic policing, NOT MINIMUM MANNING which was good) suffered greatly. To the point, supervisors/upper ranks gave up. Why try to get things accomplished, when it's going to be rescinded down the road. The pendalem shifted. Had to. The country sentiment changed. Has become anti union. Butler's "ideas" were all being done in the 80's-2000 when NCPD was viewed as one of the most excellent departments in the country. All he points out, is what NCPD was. |
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tim2188
Full Member
R.I.P Artie Lopez 10/23/12
Posts: 222
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Post by tim2188 on Jul 7, 2014 17:49:31 GMT -5
The cop who shot up the cigarette machine ( paragraph #5) in Valley Stream was off duty and he quit the job. This was in the early 60's, before Mr Butlers time. 8th Pct cop shot up a cigarette machine in the 1970's , this was at a place on the Bethpage/Hicksville border. |
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Post by ncpdretired on Jul 7, 2014 19:52:33 GMT -5
Whats with cops and cigarette machines? Did not know there were so many shot up!!
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Post by mrwizard on Jul 7, 2014 22:31:06 GMT -5
They always warned us about booze, broads and gambling. I guess they forgot about cigarette machines.
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Post by coots on Jul 7, 2014 23:13:41 GMT -5
I knew Mike Butler. He came to the 1st as a new Sgt. worked with him a couple days a week. Didn't bother to come out to N. Merrick...mostly hung around Roosevelt/Uniondale.
I was in the Pct when the barbecue took place. This activity was so hush-hush I and Charlie Moran who were in an undercover burglary detail at time went off duty at 1 am and didn't even know about it. It supposedly took place sometime after turnout at 2 am. When they found out about it (stupid cop was called in to IAU for a house party where marijuana was supposed to have been used (a cops estranged made the accusation which proved unf.) and by mistake thought they were talking about the barbecue gave up the who enchalida. They nabbed the female for welfare fraud and turned her. They showed her pictures of all the cops that were working that night, and she picked them all out, and they all took some type of fall. I was told they even had Charlie's and my picture among them.
From the details only one woman was brought there. Those who drank and ate were given 45 days pay. 2 cops were given 6 month suspensions. 2 Sgts who attended the party were fired. The desk Officer (Lt) and signal monitor (a Sgt that night) were given 45 days pay.
The careers of the 2 cops who got 6 month suspensions, one went on to become a Sgt. and the other Chief of Department...so much for careers being seriously interrupted. BTW....the cop who gave everything up was made detective as he was considered a pariah in the Pct. nobody would talk or work with him...now isn't that nice. Later down the road he was indicted and tried for art fraud...Karma!
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Post by redstone14 on Jul 7, 2014 23:55:26 GMT -5
Whats with cops and cigarette machines? Did not know there were so many shot up!! I'm not sure about back then, but considering the prices charged today, it can argued that a Robbery is being committed and that Deadly Physical Force is justified. |
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Post by bohica9 on Jul 8, 2014 0:34:28 GMT -5
I knew Mike Butler. He came to the 1st as a new Sgt. worked with him a couple days a week. Didn't bother to come out to N. Merrick...mostly hung around Roosevelt/Uniondale. I was in the Pct when the barbecue took place. This activity was so hush-hush I and Charlie Moran who were in an undercover burglary detail at time went off duty at 1 am and didn't even know about it. It supposedly took place sometime after turnout at 2 am. When they found out about it (stupid cop was called in to IAU for a house party where marijuana was supposed to have been used (a cops estranged made the accusation which proved unf.) and by mistake thought they were talking about the barbecue gave up the who enchalida. They nabbed the female for welfare fraud and turned her. They showed her pictures of all the cops that were working that night, and she picked them all out, and they all took some type of fall. I was told they even had Charlie's and my picture among them. From the details only one woman was brought there. Those who drank and ate were given 45 days pay. 2 cops were given 6 month suspensions. 2 Sgts who attended the party were fired. The desk Officer (Lt) and signal monitor (a Sgt that night) were given 45 days pay. The careers of the 2 cops who got 6 month suspensions, one went on to become a Sgt. and the other Chief of Department...so much for careers being seriously interrupted. BTW....the cop who gave everything up was made detective as he was considered a pariah in the Pct. nobody would talk or work with him...now isn't that nice. Later down the road he was indicted and tried for art fraud...Karma! I thought the "Chief of Dept" went on to head the security for Shea Stadium, or whatever they call it now. |
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Post by bohica9 on Jul 8, 2014 0:35:52 GMT -5
By the way, I know of no one who has an unkind word to say about him, including me. That man is a true gentleman.
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