Laws and regulations have been put in place to protect citizen’s constitutional rights. Laws such as Federal law 42 U.S.C. 14141. This federal law protects citizens from police misconduct. Citing it is unlawful for an officer to participate in any behavior that strips a person of their constitutional rights. This includes excessive use of force, discriminatory harassment, coercive sexual conduct, unlawful searches, and false arrests. What happens when someone refuses to tolerate what they feel is corruption or officer misconduct? Whether a fellow law enforcement officer or a non-sworn individual reports the unlawful conduct, they are deemed a whistle-blower. A whistle-blower is someone who reports any information or illegal activity within …show more content…
Other reason fellow law enforcement officers fail to report corruption or misconduct is out of fear of retaliation, the long-standing tradition of backing the blue line, brotherhood, and any consequences that may follow such as being shunned, losing friends within the department, and fear of losing cover units when needed. Perhaps one of the most famous whistle-blowers of modern times is Francesco “Frank” Serpico. Serpico joined the New York Police Department in 1959. Serpico made several attempts to report the misconduct displayed by law enforcement officers within the department, however, he was told to just “go along” with it. After realizing his complaints within the agency were not going anywhere, Serpico decided to take his story to the New York Times. In 1970, the New York Times printed an article about corrupt law enforcement officers. The article specified the corrupt officers were making over one million dollars a year in bribes and payoffs from gangsters and drug dealers. In 1970 Serpico became the first New York Police Department officer to ever testify against his fellow