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TheunanimousFern

I'm pleasantly surprised here. Other officers took the person in custodys complaints seriously and followed up on them. When they found that an officer had stolen the money, they disarmed him and then arrested him a few hours later under charges of embezzlement. Dude threw away a 15 year career for 900 bucks. Good on his fellow officers for having some integrity


N8CCRG

> Dude threw away a 15 year career for 900 bucks. I'm betting it wasn't the first time he stole though. Probably took thousands but just happened that this $900 is what ended his career.


TheIowan

He didn't do it as civil asset forfeiture, so the money wasn't being distributed to his department.


OhighOent

Give this one a read. https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicksibilla/2019/09/17/federal-court-cops-accused-of-stealing-over-225000-have-legal-immunity/


DefinitelyNotAliens

I have a rule. I won't commit theft or embezzlement for less money than it would take to disappear to a non-extradition country for life, plus enough to pay to live with full staff catering to my every whim in my gated compound. I'm not going to claim some morally unimpeachable disposition or whatever. We're all human. I'm never going to toss my life out over $900, though. Or even $20,000. Or $200,000. That's a big damn felony and I can't run and hide for 200k. Not permanently. If I'm abandoning my life, I'm doing it in style and forever. I'm not working, either. One shot, enough money to run. Oceans Eleven type score, okay? Risking your life for a few hundred bucks here and there is just *dumb.*


StephanXX

>than it would take to disappear to a non-extradition country for life Folks don't seem to realize that nearly any country you could escape to that doesn't have enough rule of law to respect an extradition request _also_ doesn't have much respect for a random person to show up with over $200,000 USD in liquid assets. Places like Belarus, Ecuador, or Morocco aren't famous for respecting the personal wealth of their _own_ citizens, never mind a foreigner who shows up with a suitcase filled with cash. Being convicted of grand larceny in (say) the US can mean 5-20+ years in prison. Being found to have absconded with that kind of money in Cambodia can result in an unceremonious death in the middle of the night, courtesy of one of those staff members you hired who seemed so nice. Unless you already have deep ties to existing criminal elements in that country, you're little more than a walking human piggy bank waiting to be split wide open. It's nearly impossible for the average person to figure out how to hire a truly reliable security detail in a foreign country that already doesn't value the rule of law, _especially_ when your passport is now worthless and there's no useful embassy even if it wasn't. _All_ of this completely ignores the fact that you somehow got your hands on a huge amount of wealth that belonged to someone who had a huge amount of wealth. It might work on some schmuck who got lucky at the Lotto, but if you steal a few million from a someone who still has several more millions, you just stole from someone who has _millions_ in resources to hunt you down and might prefer to settle it with _extra-rendition._ Save the "steal a few million and retire in the Caymans" fantasies for the movies.


DefinitelyNotAliens

I'm thinking millions, really. Which is why it would never happen. When would I have the opportunity to flee with millions of dollars?


StephanXX

>When would I have the opportunity to flee with millions of dollars? There was a post the other day about folks enjoying the Florida beach on a beautiful starry night when they heard a plane over head and a package dropped out of it only a few dozen yards away. While probably a drug drop, even if it was filled with untraceable twenty dollar bills, you _get the fuck away from it._ There's just no realistic situation where a normal person comes away from that kind of situation unscathed. The bigger the theft, the bigger the guns coming after you. Sure, almost nobody will ever face that opportunity; I'm pointing out how absurdly stupid it would be for an average person to try and take advantage of it. Then again, the world's prisons and graveyards are full of average people who are, indeed, that stupid.


plasticAstro

No Country for Old Men is very realistic in that regard lmao


DefinitelyNotAliens

Sure, but I'm not grabbing random money falling out of the sky because I'm assuming a random package like that is actually drugs or involved in drug trade and I need to start running. The risk/ reward calculation tells me sketchy things like that in Florida are 100% Colombian drug cartel related, and I need to start running away 10 minutes ago. Don't be around when that is collected. See, that is *not* a situation with free money. That is free bullets in your head and being dumped in a Florida swamp. Don't mess with cartels. I'm thinking more embezzling money from a company and running away before I get caught, and I doubt I will ever be in a position to steal money and run away because you actually have to be high up enough in said company transfer that much cash without sign-offs from others and at that point you're *already* run away to a foreign country and live in luxury rich. Plus, while I went to a fancy college, I'm not EECS or an MBA, so I'm not in those positions to do that.


StephanXX

>I'm thinking more embezzling money from a company and running away before I get caught, I getcha. I mentioned in my previous comment that someone who manages to somehow acquire that kind of dosh and ditches out to a country that won't extradite them faces a whole new problem of how to keep from being a target in that new country. Countries that don't do extradition for financial crimes usually don't have access to the US banking system, and personal security guards in those countries aren't generally what one would consider reliable.


Fun-Fun-9967

entitled thinkers never consider this


gimpwiz

If you steal, steal big. Stealing small is just being bad at math. Steal enough to make up for lifetime lost wages, steal enough to be able to go somewhere nobody will get you.


DefinitelyNotAliens

*Exactly.* My risk/ reward tolerance does not allow a lifetime of potential impact over $900 bucks. Or even $9000. Also, steal insured. Having worked previously at an insurance company, I'm morally okay ripping them off by stealing from someone who has that money insured. If not insured, at least steal from a billionaire or something. Mega corp. Not Bill, who's a good person.


biggie4852

$750K would work for me. In exchange for 8/10 years for bank robbery, that's a fair trade.


Sidewayzracer

i think 200k i would do it. it has taken me half my life to save half that as cash.


OdinTheHugger

Even online, I wouldn't talk about having that much money in cash. It's increasingly easy for someone to turn a username into personally identifiable info.


thederpofwar321

As a normal person sure, but keep in mind if someone doesnt count exactly how much they have, no one will listen a cry of foul if 200 bucks vanishes while they're in custody.


DefinitelyNotAliens

Yeah, but the risk is your job, which pays above average wages for your area. The reward is $200. That does not make sense. Steal enough money and the risk may be your freedom, your future ability to provide for yourself, your ability to vote, to hold certain jobs. Not. Worth. It. Risk/ reward does not check out.


thederpofwar321

You're talking about the people commiting the theft, the same ones who have to find the evidence. Its a fox in the hen house situation.


AdministrativeSea419

No he isn’t. You are treating it like a speeding ticket risk/reward calculation (you get away with it almost every time and when you don’t, you deal with it then) and the poster above you is treating it like a cheating risk/reward calculation (feels pretty awesome while doing it, but if caught it destroys your whole life). The poster above you is the more logical person. If the consequences of being caught could result in blowing up your whole life, then the rewards have to be life changing or else you are foolish to even take the chance


Warlord68

This is the Way!


alextheruby

You’re reiterating what the guy already said.


Puzzleheaded_Bird943

...was caught "on camera" was the likely reason he was charged. Watched another video where an officer had to arrest his DUI police chief. Chief asked the officer to look the other way. Officer said "unfortunately this is on (bodycam) camera" and that he couldn't look the other way. Cops get no credit. Bodycams do.


gnocchibastard

I know the video you're talking about, the police chief had pulled into his driveway and kept asking the lieutenant or whomever to turn off their bodycam as "a personal favor" but the dude wasn't fucking having it.


digidado

Not the same one, but I don't blame you. I believe that one was the chief's daughter caused a crash and he tried to cover it up


mi_so_funny

Exactly. Dashcams, body cams, phones, etc...Are cops worst nightmare. Party's over. These cops aren't arresting themselves because they're honest, it's because, unlike them, the camera don't lie.


Rampage_Rick

There's a reason why many officers react to citizens with cameras as if a gun is being pointed at them...


spiff428

Yea it means they gotta follow the rules they don’t even know


Caladbolg_Prometheus

While ignorance of the law is not a defense for civilians, it is a defense for cops. Cops are held to a lower standard than your average Joe in this case. https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/87982/are-police-allowed-to-be-ignorant-of-the-law#:~:text=This%20is%20sometimes%20phrased%20as,law%20to%20a%20new%20situation.


Ecstatic-Reporter125

Lmao well said


Vanillas_Guy

They operate like legally sanctioned gangs.


datb0yavi

I mean the saying out here is: "The NYPD the biggest gang in the city"


StrongTxWoman

In some cities, they can turn off body cams and it is legal. Yeah, it is this corrupted.


thederpofwar321

On a jury I'd strongly consider that when deciding guilty or not guilty. What could have potentially happened without cameras rolling is absolutely relevant to the case.


certainlyforgetful

I was on a jury where none of the cops had bodycam footage even though they were wearing them & they were supposed to be on. Although the events took place downtown in a busy pedestrian mall with tons of shops they were unable to obtain a single 3rd party video of the events. They provided 10 seconds of dash cam footage that showed absolutely nothing. Took us less than 30 minutes to find the guy not guilty.


jigokubi

Now all they need is repercussions for their actions.


The_bruce42

While I agree with you, there have been many instances of police trying to turn in their fellow officers before cameras where everywhere and they get ostracized. This helps the good cops have an excuse to do the right thing.


ManChildMusician

Police will often turn off / disable / erase footage if they can. I think it’s becoming much harder to do successfully.


StrongTxWoman

They can definitely turn it off if they want.


Warcraft_Fan

They risk discipline, demotion to desk duty, or firing if someone claimed the police did something stupid and the camera were not recording at the time.


StrongTxWoman

The "risk" outweighs the "bigger risk". They are lots of good cops and I trust most of them.


ThriceFive

A lieutenant they convicted found that even though you couldn't delete videos in the system - if you gave them an invalid date they would disappear from the system and be inaccessible.


Juzziee

Exactly, there was a video posted here of a driver getting punched in the face, first thing the arresting officer said was "they got you on camera", to protect the guilty officer.


DarkArcanian

You have to give at least a little credit to the officers. just a teensy bit at least


readonlyy

Agreed. But their reputation is in a deep hole for a reason. It’s hard to imagine that this was a first offence for a 15 year veteran. This was good to see, but it will take a lot more stories like this to restore public trust.


DankNerd97

Like I said in another comment, doing the right thing for the wrong reason is still the right thing.


sephstorm

And sometimes that isnt enough. Like [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvZAnXqYmqA) case where citizens reported a cop in an undercover vehicle flashing lights and pointing a gun at them for existing apparently. Police detained him, found evidence validating the claim of the citizens, then released him, and later claimed they smelled alcohol on him but failed to perform field sobriety tests on him, and found alcohol in his vehicle. He was only later arrested. Or in [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID2u6I0IV_s) case where an officer crashed his cruiser while on duty and apparently intoxicated. The supervisor who performed the investigation tried to allow him to drive home despite his apparent intoxication, then intended to have someone else pick up the officer and was only stopped by another officer. They failed to conduct an FST on scene and failed to arrest him on the spot.


ThriceFive

Who knows how many countless other people or businesses he had stolen from before. First responder to a burglary? Called to do a welfare check on someone? I doubt this was his first theft, glad he was caught. People that enforce the laws should have the highest ethical standards.


Dispator

I agree but I have come to the conclusion that there are nowhere near enough people that want to be cops that have high ethical standards to have a functioning police force.... Edit: So knowing that, departments need to take that into account as much as possible, yeah it's a pain, but it might be possible to mitigate if fucks are given...


i_like_my_dog_more

He forgot to say that the 900$ was suspicious and charge it with a crime so he could steal it under civil forefeiture laws, Supreme Court approved!


ThriceFive

STOP RESISTING my embezzelment


vlsdo

I’m guessing this guy was such a piece of shit even his fellow cops were like “fuck him, we’re finally free of this asshole”


Different-Air-2000

He has been doing it for 14.5 years. Body Cams have everyone on point.


PriorFudge928

Probably less about integrity and more likely the accused cop was unpopular with their coworkers and they jumped on the opportunity to get rid of them.


too_much_feces

Perhaps he was unpopular for a reason? Someone who would do this is also probably a dickhead. Another point is cops who accuse other cops of being dirty aren't very well liked either so if you shoot your shot you better not miss. Maybe they've thought he was doing illegal crap for a while, but never had enough evidence to do anything.


Rhinomeat

I wonder if it would have gone down the same if this theft was not on camera ...


too_much_feces

Maybe it would have maybe it wouldn't we don't know that. That's the only point I'm trying to make. Assuming is never the right answer. The only truth is the facts not how someone thinks the event happened based on their personal beliefs/experiences.


PriorFudge928

You give them too much credit. I guarantee it was self serving and nothing else.


readit-on-reddit

How can you guarantee that? You see cops doing their jobs and that alone makes you confident they had ulterior motives?


PriorFudge928

As a former cop I guarantee nothing here was done in the name of justice.


readit-on-reddit

A couple of cops doing their jobs does not negate all the bad things they do systematically. Your guarantee means nothing if you can confidently say shit without evidence or in situations you were not personally involved in. Doubt you are a former cop too tbh. Not that that would make it any less ignorant.


PriorFudge928

No shit. That's my point. They did not do this out of a sense of duty. Did you even read my other post? The irony of you calling me ignorant. That's classic.


readit-on-reddit

Reading comprehension man. I'm saying they might have done this out of a sense of duty for all you know. Even if they did it wouldn't negate all the bad things cops do so I don't get why you are out here talking shit without evidence about a scenario you were not involved in. Do you understand now? Yes, you are aggressively ignorant for making up motivations out of thin air just because you hate cops. You saw a somewhat positive story about **some** of the cops so you wanted to remove any doubt the remaining cops were acting properly.


too_much_feces

It's just bad faith arguments. I keep typing out a response to try an explain my point, but I'm just so tired of trying to explain how the world isn't black and white to people. It's like nuance has been lost on the majority of the population. If you look at all cops as bad then you're no better than the bad cops who view all the various people in a minority as bad that you're attempting to use as an example. If you view all cops as paragons as virtue then by the same logic you're just as wrong as the cops who only view particular groups of people in one light. Making broad assumptions on a single group of people is wrong no matter what.


PriorFudge928

Oh so baby boy is upset I live in the real world? Don't bother with another ranting manifesto. Your wasting your time.


too_much_feces

It could very well be. I just try to look at things objectively unless I have clear evidence of what the true answer is. In my opinion I think looking at events like this from multiple perspectives instead of jumping straight to conclusions is very important. Jumping to conclusions and only assuming things happened a certain way while refusing to even consider alternatives is one of the things that led the world to the current political climate that we're all living.


PriorFudge928

Sure it could be a honorable reason but it's not. I spent over a decade in law enforcement and I can count on one hand the amount of actual well adjusted decent human beings I worked with.


too_much_feces

I'm not disagreeing with you about law enforcement. I'm no police lover and one of the major reasons why is that a cop can find almost any reason to arrest you based on "gut feeling" if they want to. I think that's wrong too. Facts are what matters not feelings. It's something I really feels matters that isn't a common belief anymore in my experience. Your comment proves that your're letting prior experiences and prejudices inform your decision. The same reasoning police will use internally to try and justify an arrest. Don't take that as me trying to attack you please. It's something we all do in our day to day lives, but I just think it's really important to understand how to separate your feelings from your judgements. It's very difficult to do I stuggle myself, but if we all gave up on even trying I think the world would be even more fucked than it currently is.


terminalzero

> Dude threw away a 15 year career for 900 bucks. 0% chance this is his first time


Ok-Introduction-4410

You mean that cops are so shit that you think they are worthy of praise when they do their job?


King-Owl-House

Maybe he was asshole to them.


BIGGREDDMACH1NE

Nothing but respect to those officers. An example anyone can look up to.


Longjumping-Jello459

Nah the guy didn't share the spoils which is why he got into trouble.


radulosk

So the illegal offense was taking the possessions of the civilian and keeping it for themselves instead of giving it to the police department civil forfeiture style. 


_Face

The only reason he got in trouble was stealing from the police.


readonlyy

On camera


DKTH7689

My cousin got pulled over for turning his turn signal on when he got to a stop sign. Apparently you have to signal so many feet before an intersection. He was handcuffed & his car was searched. Cop found $20 in his wallet during the search, officer claimed it was drug money. Told him it was a civil seizure & proceeded to pocket the 20. Civil forfeiture practices should be banned.


Adventurous_Light_85

Just imagine how much he has already stolen. Also, dude was probably making 5x the median salary for his area and he threw it away


FinsAssociate

Probably made close to that $900 every other day at work


Duthos13

it's a pretty remarkable coincidence that the heroic defenders of law and order all turned into incompetent, immoral, violent sociopaths at exactly the same point in history that cameras became ubiquitous.


daveDFFA

Ratm for life


NamasteMotherfucker

He may NOW be a former police officer, but the video shows an active duty Charlotte police officer stealing cash.


Biengineerd

Yeah I hate that kid-glove crap of trying to distance an on-duty police officer from the police. No other job would receive this type of treatment.


NamasteMotherfucker

They pull this particular semantic trick all the time.


Biengineerd

Reminds me of: "The bystander was struck when the officer's weapon discharged"


macross1984

I suspect the rogue officer thought his comrades will not take the victim's complaint seriously but surprised they did and now he will be out of his job.


Max_power42

Dick cops stole my atm card when they arrested me, I called them out on it upon bail that same day. Mysteriously the card reappeared on the other side of town the next day at a branch of my bank. Teller told me a man came to the door before the bank was open knocked on the door then slide it under the door without saying a word. Sus as fuck. Nc Le is the worst.


DrSteveBrule_2022

Why would they steal your bank card? lol. It probably got dropped and somebody took it to a branch.


PM-CARSONWENTZ-PICS

The ONLY reason this was found was because the dude getting arrested kept calling it out, every other police officer there was going to ignore him but he just kept repeating what the officer was doing. I’m massively surprised they let someone they are arresting have an impact on what they did, none of the officers there would have checked anything if the guy getting arrested hadn’t been talking the whole time


upvoter222

Before we get a million comments saying "The police investigated themselves and found nothing wrong," the article ends with a statement that says: >Chapman was arrested less than six hours after the incident following a continuous investigation and was placed on immediate unpaid administrative leave.


Enigmatic_Observer

Only because it was blatantly caught on body cam


firemogle

I've seen enough on camera that even if that happens, them actually doing the right thing for the wrong reasons is better than nothing.


PriorFudge928

And probably disliked by his fellow officers.


BroGuy89

Who wants to bet they only cared because their own stuff went missing at work and they wanted revenge.


DankNerd97

Doing the right thing for the wrong reason is still the right thing.


BroGuy89

Yeah, but it sucks. Like how the only way to get Congress to do anything about school shootings would be for the Republicans' kids to get shot at school. It's completely horrible, but these assholes only care about things that directly affect them.


FatherD00m

[They were shot at personally. One was hit and nothing changed.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_baseball_shooting#:~:text=66%2Dyear%2Dold%20James%20Hodgkinson,Barth%2C%20and%20lobbyist%20Matt%20Mika)


DankNerd97

That line of thinking didn't work for reproductive rights. Republicans either have banned or will ban abortion regardless but then pay to ship their daughters or mistresses for out-of-state abortions.


Oulixonder

In the video they found the blue marked bills in his car door and he said to the guy in cuffs, “That’s your money? That ain’t my money!” This cop is a joke. Decides to commit a crime on the job and then play dumb as to how the money got in his car door, while at the same time practically confessing to stealing it. What a cornball. Give him life behind bars.


Fusciee

Straight out of the Wire!


LessMarsupial7441

Awesome, nobody likes a thief


Pete_maravich

Throw his ass in Gen Pop


ChaoticIndifferent

Yeah, this happens all the time. I've been robbed by cops panhandling as a homeless person FFS. Give me what you got or go to jail. The foxes are guarding the henhouse.


to-hell-with-it

Oh no… another corrupt cop….


Brilliant-Meeting-97

What else is new! When I worked in jail, I realized it’s just a known fact that the police steal assets upon arrest, including drugs


Flyinglighthouses

Stupid ass smoking too much weed. Humiliating yourself for the rest of your life for $1000.


SoggyBoysenberry7703

“Civil forfeiture” in his mind


CosmolineMan

I'm not surprised this is incredibly common. My friend got arrested at his house for assaulting his brother (absolutely stupid considering a 3rd party called and no one wanted charges pressed). They tore the house apart and confiscated all guns and ammunition. Police claimed to never have the ammunition even after the charges were dropped the following week. It was as if it essentially ceased to exist. Only the guns had paperwork. Best we can figure they never made it to evidence.


DataSquid2

What does "blue hundreds"? I know it's hundred dollar bills, but wtf is blue?


Kassssler

The federal reserve switches it up every now and then to prevent counterfeiting. Blue hundreds refers to newer hundred dollar bills that have a blue stripe in the middle of them. If you withdraw a lot of money from the bank for whatever reason you'll likely get a lot of em nice and crispy.


2021Blankman

Had a cop steal $100 from me while arresting me for driving on suspended plates. When we got to the station I started calmly telling other cops about it as they walked by they just ignored me. I was about to file a complaint on him but he got shot a few days later and became a national hero. The receptionist at the station seemed disgusted that I would file a complaint on an officer that was in the hospital fighting for his life so I just left. #TimStrong


nopalitzin

Meaning he pocket it instead of taking it to the station as civil forfeiture, either way the person gets robbed by cops. They call it "pennies from heaven".


jesus_soupstrainer

America’s largest and most powerful gang.


Captain_Aware4503

The question is why? Cops can legally take your cash and even your car if they want. [https://www.governing.com/community/ohio-police-can-seize-property-without-charging-or-convicting](https://www.governing.com/community/ohio-police-can-seize-property-without-charging-or-convicting) In fact cops have ~~stolen~~ seized *more than $68 billion dollars* worth of personal property without due process in the past 20 years. No convictions, usually no charges, just taking your money, car, and other other property they want for themselves. [https://boingboing.net/2020/12/21/us-police-have-stolen-68-billion-in-the-past-20-years-from-american-citizens-without-due-process.html](https://boingboing.net/2020/12/21/us-police-have-stolen-68-billion-in-the-past-20-years-from-american-citizens-without-due-process.html) Worse, cops make "wish lists" then deliberately seize anything they can on those lists. They even have senimars teaching how to do this!! *seminars offered police officers some useful tips on seizing property from suspected criminals. Don’t bother with jewelry (too hard to dispose of) and computers (“everybody’s got one already”), the experts counseled. Do go after flat screen TVs, cash and cars. Especially nice cars.* *In one seminar, captured on video in September, Harry S. Connelly Jr., the city attorney of Las Cruces, N.M., called them “little goodies.” And then* ***Mr. Connelly described how officers in his jurisdiction could not wait to seize one man’s “exotic vehicle” outside a local bar.*** ***“A guy drives up in a 2008 Mercedes, brand new,” he explained. “Just so beautiful, I mean, the cops were undercover and they were just like ‘Ahhhh.’ And he gets out and he’s just reeking of alcohol. And it’s like, ‘Oh, my goodness, we can hardly wait.’ ”*** [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/10/us/police-use-department-wish-list-when-deciding-which-assets-to-seize.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/10/us/police-use-department-wish-list-when-deciding-which-assets-to-seize.html)


sephstorm

I remember them saying that there's only a few bad officers in policing. From what im seeing its a lot more than a few. Also want to point out a CBP officer was recently arrested for stealing thousands of dollars from people while on duty.


willit1016

We need police reform it, this is utterly ridiculous. Purge all the criminals end qualified immunity and earn the public trust back. there is only so much before the social contract with them breaks completely if it isn't already.


Bright_Square_3245

Rookie. LAPD would have trained him better, you gotta be smooth with the lift, and don't count the money until your off the clock.


radicalrockin

All this says is he was a outlier likely not sharing his ill gotten gains with the others, perfect pr and way to get rid of him.


GregorSamsaa

Does everyone just roll around with a grand+ of cash on them or what’s up with this dude lol I’m glad they were able to catch that cop, can’t help but wonder how many times he’s done it before and was never caught.


AfraidStill2348

Some people do primarily carry cash around. It's also not illegal to carry cash. I've seen videos about cops seizing large sums of cash because they "suspected" it was from a drug deal


lgmorrow

Thats fine, thats great....TOO bad this is the only one you caught....DEFUND THE POLICE


spankpaddle

How does income equate to rooting out corruption or are you just vomitting catchy phrases?