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Bed-Stuy Serpico Sues NYPD For Tossing Him In Psych Ward
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 23, 2010
Modified Aug 23, 2010
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 23, 2010
Modified Aug 23, 2010
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Earlier this year, Officer Adrian Schoolcraft of Brooklyn's 81st Precinct made headlines when he accused commanding officers of massively under-reporting crime stats. Now, Schoolcraft is suing the NYPD for $50 million for trying to discredit and silence him by throwing him in a psych ward unwillingly, and subsequently suspending him for going "AWOL." And seeing as how Schoolcraft logged hundreds of hours of secret recordings of police conversations and meetings, it should come as no surprise that he has recorded evidence to back him up.
Schoolcraft was being treated for various ongoing stress-related ailments for over a year by NYPD psychologist Dr. Catherine Lamstein. According to a recording he made, she told him, "You don't need a psychiatrist, you need an M.D." Four days before he was forced into the psych ward, Schoolcraft received a phone message from Lamstein: "As far as I've known you, I've had no concerns about you hurting yourself or anything like that...I just really want to urge you to return home or call your captain."
According to his lawyer Jon Norinsberg, the NYPD tried to make him appear unstable to undercut his charges, and Lamstein's statements prove they had no basis for admitting him to a psych ward: "...the NYPD's decision to break into Adrian's home and have him involuntarily committed was not only illegal and unethical, but also a flagrant violation of his constitutional rights," he said. Schoolcraft has set up a website for other officers to come forward about crime stats and quotas.
Tagged
Adrian Schoolcraft
corruption
crime stats
lawsuit
nypd
psych ward
serpico
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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