STAIN ON THE BADGE: State Police Went AWOL During City Patrols - And Supervisor Had No Idea - Streetsblog New York City

Troopers in a rogue New York State Police unit based in New York City routinely avoided patrolling MTA bridges and tunnels. Officers spent time listening to music, sleeping, and having personal encounters, including a case involving travel to a New Jersey strip club, drunkenness, and an assault arrest. Despite failing to perform duties, officers were paid for the time, and some received overtime. Internal affairs records describe inept supervision, including a sergeant never trained to supervise certain patrols and another locked out of his computer for months without knowing where officers were assigned. Investigators identified nearly three dozen shifts with no job performance, yet most troopers were retained and remained among the highest paid in the state.

"Troopers in a rogue New York State Police unit based in the city routinely blew off their supposed duties of patrolling MTA bridges and tunnels to listen to music, sleep with their girlfriends and, in one notorious case, drive to a strip club in New Jersey, get drunk and get arrested for assault, Streetsblog has learned. All of the officers were paid for that time - and some, including the trooper who had the rendezvous at his girlfriend's place, even made overtime."

"In other police agencies, officers going full overnight shifts without making any traffic stops - or reporting any interactions with the public - might have aroused suspicion among the top brass. But this unit was staffed by inept supervisors, according to an internal affairs file obtained by Streetsblog: One sergeant was never trained to supervise some patrols; another sergeant was locked out of his computer for months and was unaware even where his officers were supposed to patrol."

"It kept eight of the nine troopers who repeatedly neglected their duties on the force despite investigators later identifying almost three dozen shifts - including 16 overtime shifts - in which these state police officers failed to do their jobs. The eight troopers remain among the highest paid cops in New York State, averaging around $180,000 annually."

""It's stunning that we have this level of graft and misconduct," said Cory Morris, an attorney who has sued the State Police over requests for its disciplinary files. "Although, the more it goes on, the less I'm stunned.""

Read at Streetsblog New York City