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In reply to the discussion: One Brave Officer Did Not Turn His Back On The Mayor ---> [View all]G_j
(40,366 posts)29. The Police Are Still Out of Control, I should know.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/the-police-are-still-out-of-control-112160.html
By FRANK SERPICO October 23, 2014
In the opening scene of the 1973 movie Serpico, I am shot in the faceor to be more accurate, the character of Frank Serpico, played by Al Pacino, is shot in the face. Even today its very difficult for me to watch those scenes, which depict in a very realistic and terrifying way what actually happened to me on Feb. 3, 1971. I had recently been transferred to the Narcotics division of the New York City Police Department, and we were moving in on a drug dealer on the fourth floor of a walk-up tenement in a Hispanic section of Brooklyn. The police officer backing me up instructed me (since I spoke Spanish) to just get the apartment door open and leave the rest to us.
One officer was standing to my left on the landing no more than eight feet away, with his gun drawn; the other officer was to my right rear on the stairwell, also with his gun drawn. When the door opened, I pushed my way in and snapped the chain. The suspect slammed the door closed on me, wedging in my head and right shoulder and arm. I couldnt move, but I aimed my snub-nose Smith & Wesson revolver at the perp (the movie version unfortunately goes a little Hollywood here, and has Pacino struggling and failing to raise a much-larger 9-millimeter automatic). From behind me no help came. At that moment my anger got the better of me. I made the almost fatal mistake of taking my eye off the perp and screaming to the officer on my left: What the hell you waiting for? Give me a hand! I turned back to face a gun blast in my face. I had cocked my weapon and fired back at him almost in the same instant, probably as reflex action, striking him. (He was later captured.)
When I regained consciousness, I was on my back in a pool of blood trying to assess the damage from the gunshot wound in my cheek. Was this a case of small entry, big exit, as often happens with bullets? Was the back of my head missing? I heard a voice saying, Don worry, you be all right, you be all right, and when I opened my eyes I saw an old Hispanic man looking down at me like Carlos Castanedas Don Juan. My backup was nowhere in sight. They hadnt even called for assistanceI never heard the famed Code 1013, meaning Officer Down. They didnt call an ambulance either, I later learned; the old man did. One patrol car responded to investigate, and realizing I was a narcotics officer rushed me to a nearby hospital (one of the officers who drove me that night said, If I knew it was him, I would have left him there to bleed to death, I learned later).
The next time I saw my back-up officers was when one of them came to the hospital to bring me my watch. I said, What the hell am I going to do with a watch? What I needed was a back-up. Where were you? He said, Fuck you, and left. Both my back-ups were later awarded medals for saving my life.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/the-police-are-still-out-of-control-112160.html#ixzz3NFgBNnZ5
By FRANK SERPICO October 23, 2014
In the opening scene of the 1973 movie Serpico, I am shot in the faceor to be more accurate, the character of Frank Serpico, played by Al Pacino, is shot in the face. Even today its very difficult for me to watch those scenes, which depict in a very realistic and terrifying way what actually happened to me on Feb. 3, 1971. I had recently been transferred to the Narcotics division of the New York City Police Department, and we were moving in on a drug dealer on the fourth floor of a walk-up tenement in a Hispanic section of Brooklyn. The police officer backing me up instructed me (since I spoke Spanish) to just get the apartment door open and leave the rest to us.
One officer was standing to my left on the landing no more than eight feet away, with his gun drawn; the other officer was to my right rear on the stairwell, also with his gun drawn. When the door opened, I pushed my way in and snapped the chain. The suspect slammed the door closed on me, wedging in my head and right shoulder and arm. I couldnt move, but I aimed my snub-nose Smith & Wesson revolver at the perp (the movie version unfortunately goes a little Hollywood here, and has Pacino struggling and failing to raise a much-larger 9-millimeter automatic). From behind me no help came. At that moment my anger got the better of me. I made the almost fatal mistake of taking my eye off the perp and screaming to the officer on my left: What the hell you waiting for? Give me a hand! I turned back to face a gun blast in my face. I had cocked my weapon and fired back at him almost in the same instant, probably as reflex action, striking him. (He was later captured.)
When I regained consciousness, I was on my back in a pool of blood trying to assess the damage from the gunshot wound in my cheek. Was this a case of small entry, big exit, as often happens with bullets? Was the back of my head missing? I heard a voice saying, Don worry, you be all right, you be all right, and when I opened my eyes I saw an old Hispanic man looking down at me like Carlos Castanedas Don Juan. My backup was nowhere in sight. They hadnt even called for assistanceI never heard the famed Code 1013, meaning Officer Down. They didnt call an ambulance either, I later learned; the old man did. One patrol car responded to investigate, and realizing I was a narcotics officer rushed me to a nearby hospital (one of the officers who drove me that night said, If I knew it was him, I would have left him there to bleed to death, I learned later).
The next time I saw my back-up officers was when one of them came to the hospital to bring me my watch. I said, What the hell am I going to do with a watch? What I needed was a back-up. Where were you? He said, Fuck you, and left. Both my back-ups were later awarded medals for saving my life.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/the-police-are-still-out-of-control-112160.html#ixzz3NFgBNnZ5
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My respect for the officer is not because he stood facing and didn't turn his back on the mayor
helpmetohelpyou
Dec 2014
#8
by turning their backs, the other officers were politicizing a funeral and disrespecting
napkinz
Dec 2014
#11
Amazing! One "gutsy" Black Officer.. beautiful. Mahalo napkinz. The NYPD, except for one,
Cha
Dec 2014
#3
Yes, and Chief Chris Magnus.. more about him later. We should get a whole list of the PD who are
Cha
Dec 2014
#18
Brilliant.. The Serpico Award.. like the Heisman only for Cops. More on Chief Magnus..
Cha
Dec 2014
#33
I wonder how many New Yorkers actually support these antics and how many are disgusted by them.
napkinz
Dec 2014
#24
You can be sure this man disappeared. Hope that brave cop watches his back
mountain grammy
Dec 2014
#46
Yeah, I like that.. "Portrait of Courage".. the only one out of how many?! Hope we find out if
Cha
Dec 2014
#40
Pat Lynch and the NYPD who turned their backs on the Mayor have this Bully-Victim card down
Cha
Dec 2014
#43