NYPD officer's quota and audio-tape saga

Adrian Schoolcraft is an eight-year NYPD veteran assigned to Bedford-Stuyvesant's 81st Precinct. While on duty, Schoolcraft recorded fellow officers and superiors, secretly, like a wiretap. He made tapes between June 1, 2008 and Oct. 31, 2009 and "collected hundreds of hours of cops talking about their jobs," reports the Village Voice.

The tapes capture superior officers ordering cops to make "illegal" quotas. An illegal quota, according to Al O'Leary of the Patrolman's Benevolent Association, is "when there is a punishment attached to not achieving, like a transfer or loss of assignment," per the Voice.

Schoolcraft's tapes reveal threats of disciplinary actions.

Police spokesman Paul Browne has denied the existence of quotas. Yet, Mayor Bloomberg wrote a letter to Governor Paterson pleading to keep quotas, reports another Village Voice article.

The tapes also reveal NYPD superiors issuing "downgrading" orders. To downgrade a crime is to diminish its severity. Felonies become misdemeanors.

Schoolcraft reported both issues to the Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB). Then, he provided documentation at a Quality Assurance Division (QAD) meeting. He did not reveal the tapes. He did tape the meeting.

Three weeks later, the NYPD arrested Schoolcraft at his home and admitted him, against his will, to Jamaica Hospital's psychiatric ward. NYPD Confidential gives a graphic report of his arrest along with Schoolcraft's retaliation claims.

The main issue here is the authenticity of the tapes. The Village Voice states, "The Voice has identified the NYPD bosses speaking at roll calls...." The legality of this identification is crucial. If Schoolcraft is mentally unstable, the tapes may be a manifestation.

If the tapes are authentic, Schoolcraft's mental condition is irrelevant. The tapes speak for themselves.

Schoolcraft's case involves more than the 81st Precinct. "A federal probe into the integrity of the city's crime stats could spell big trouble for Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. Both constantly tout the city's low crime rate, which is based on data the NYPD gives the FBI," reports the New York Daily News.

Big heads could roll. Motive to discredit Schoolcraft exists.

Schoolcraft is currently suspended without pay and lives with his father in Albany. He has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the NYPD and Jamaica Hospital.

If Schoolcraft's allegations are true, pay the man. Let's do this investigation quickly. A police officer in limbo needs to eat.

Bedford-Stuyvesant's crime statistics have increased 13 percent since Schoolcraft's whistle-blowing, reports the New York Daily News.

Sources:

Graham Rayman, "The NYPD Tapes: Inside Bed-Stuy's 81st Precinct," The Village Voice
Graham Rayman, "Bloomberg to Paterson: Please Let Us Keep Our NYPD Quotas," The Village Voice
Leonard Levitt, "Adrian Schoolcraft: Caught in the Snake Pit," NYPD Confidential
Rocco Parascandola, "Feds looking to interview NYPD crime stat whistleblower Adrian Schoolcraft," The NY Daily News
Rocco Parascandola, "Crime up 13% in B'klyn's 81st Pct. where whistleblower accused chiefs of lowering felony stats," The NY Daily News