Frank Serpico's Frustration in Attempting to Report Corruption: Research Paper

Introduction

Francesco Vincent Serpico is a retired New York City Department known for his whistleblowing on police corruption in the late 1960s and 1970s. As a result of his whistleblowing, Mayor John V. Lindsay was prompted to appoint the Knapp Commission to carry out investigations at the NYPD. Serpico also survived an assassination attempt and worn the prestigious NYPD Medal of Honour as played in the film Serpico which was based on the book by Peter Maas. Despite the many achievements by Serpico in eradicating corruption in the New York Police Department and the recognition he received from his whistleblowing, Serpico faced many challenges and frustrations as accounted in the book Serpico by Peter Maas.

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Serpico's frustrations originated both internally and externally. For instance, when Serpico together with other officers from the Brooklyn North Police Precinct received some intelligence that a drug deal was about to take place on the 3rd February of 1971 at the Driggs Avenue, there were instances of seclusion from other officers during the operation (Maas, 2005). As the officers took positions to counter the criminals, Serpico was alienated by his colleagues when he was shot on the face by the suspects when the door opened. Additionally, the officers did not make the usual "10-13" dispatch to the police headquarters to indicate that an officer had been shot despite him falling and bleeding profusely (Maas, 2005). It was a senior man who lived in the same apartment that called the emergency services to help Serpico as well as guard him. All these alienations are a clear indicator of how fellow officers within the NYPD were against his fight against crime and corruption in the area and this shooting and the eventual health complication that came about with it made him retire from the active service. Moreover, despite the circumstances surrounding Serpico's shooting being questionable, there were no formal investigations carried out on his shooting something that puts more weight on the inner frustrations he was facing. Since Serpico was heavily armed during the drug raid and was only shot after briefly turning away and realizing is fellow officers were not following him on the apartment makes many believe that he had been brought to the apartment by his colleagues to be murdered (Maas, 2005). Therefore, from the occurrence at the peak of his career are a clear indicator of how forces jeopardized Serpico's attempt to fight crime and corruption within the NYPD.

Externally, Serpico's attempts to eliminate corruption and crime were not spared. For instance, the laxity portrayed by the Knapp Commission when dealing with his case was a clear indicator of how the external components outside the NYPD struggled to frustrate his efforts. He testified to the commission that he hopes that police officers do not face the same frustrations in future as he did in their efforts to eliminate corruption as he had suffered in the hands of his superiors for the five years (Maas, 2005). He believes that he made his superiors and other government agencies feel overburdened by tasks that they were not willing to undertake since there exists no atmosphere for an honest police officer to act. He further suggests that for the elimination of police corruption there should be an establishment of a permanent investigative body to deal with such ordeals as he had encountered (Maas, 2005). Therefore, his sentiments at the Knapp Commission, the mistrust he had with the commission as well as the minimal actions taken by the commission indicate the external frustration experienced by Serpico in his quest to eliminate police corruption.

Serpico's crusade has in a great way affected the police department positively. He had been against police brutality, police corruption such as attempted police cover-ups and civil liberties which he has championed even in his retirement as he offers support to those that seek truth and justice even in the face of great personal risk. It is through his campaign that he has been in a position to instil the virtue among the police that a policemen's first obligation is to be responsible of the community needs he is assigned as well as creating an enabling atmosphere where honest police officers can execute their duties without frustrations. It is due to his efforts that the NYPD has undergone drastic changes such as the establishment of a city's commitment to Combat Police Corruption in 2012 with former Knapp Commission Counsel Michael Armstrong as the Chairman. Through the commission, it was found that the department had been hostile to the efforts of fighting police corruption which had been a way of life for the past 40 years. Besides, in the year 2017, Serpico was featured live on Facebook as he stood with Colin Kaepernick who was against the culture of police brutality thus changing the state of affairs in the police department as honest officers can conveniently execute their duties today.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is evident that Serpico's whistleblowing of police corruption faced many frustrations both within the ranks of the NYPD as evidenced in the case of him being shot in a stage-managed occurrence as well as the attempted cover-up of the story by the entire NYPD. He is also frustrated in his quest to seek justice through the Knapp Commission, but these frustrations have not deterred him from advocating for a seizure of police brutality, police corruption as well as other evils within the police. It is through his crusade that honest officers can now serve diligently without much frustrations from their seniors as well as the establishment of a permanent body to handle such internal issue within the NYPD.

References

Maas, P. (2005). Serpico. New York, NY: HarperCollins.