Poor Mojo's Newswire

. . . As 16 police officers were arraigned at State Supreme Court in the Bronx, incensed colleagues organized by their union cursed and taunted prosecutors and investigators, chanting “Down with the D.A.” and “Ray Kelly, hypocrite.” As the defendants emerged from their morning court appearance, a swarm of officers formed a cordon in the hallway and clapped as they picked their way to the elevators. Members of the news media were prevented by court officers from walking down the hallway where more than 100 off-duty police officers had gathered outside the courtroom. The assembled police officers blocked cameras from filming their colleagues, in one instance grabbing lenses and shoving television camera operators backward. The unsealed indictments contained more than 1,600 criminal counts, the bulk of them misdemeanors having to do with making tickets disappear as favors for friends, relatives and others with clout. But they also outlined more serious crimes, related both to ticket-fixing and drugs, grand larceny and unrelated corruption. Four of the officers were charged with helping a man get away with assault. . . . During the investigation, overseen by the Bronx district attorney’s office, prosecutors found fixing tickets to be so extensive that they considered charging the union under the state racketeering law as a criminal enterprise, the tactic employed against organized crime families. But they apparently concluded that the evidence did not support that approach. . . . Forming a wall four deep in the main foyer, they applauded as the defendants appeared. The indicted officers waved and pumped their fists. A court official who came out to calm the crowd drew insults. A woman told the officers to return for the arraignments. On Friday morning, on the street outside the courthouse, some 350 officers massed behind barricades and brandished signs expressing sentiments like “It’s a Courtesy Not a Crime.” When the defendants emerged, many in the crowd burst into raucous cheers. Once they had gone and the tide of officers had dispersed, the street was littered with refuse.

A Brooklyn woman who was struck by a stray bullet says she was unlawfully detained for five days by police officers who claimed she was lying about the incident. 35-year-old Takesha Griffin was allegedly handcuffed to a bench and, later, put in a dirty holding cell at the 73rd Precinct, while officers attempted to compel a false confession. “They wanted me to lie,” Griffin told the Daily News. “It was like The Twilight Zone.” The Brownsville resident reported that she was hit in her thigh by a stray bullet after returning home from a club with a male friend. The same friend drove Griffin to the Hospital, where staff alerted the police after realizing the source of the wound. Griffin, who was taken away by police while still in her hospital scrubs, says she was held at the Brownsville police station from September 3rd through September 8th, even though, by law, she was entitled to a court appearance within 24 hours. While in custody, Griffin claims she was forced to urinate on herself after no one would take her to the restroom, and says she was made fun of when she complained about receiving a McDonald’s hamburger every day in lieu of a decent meal. . . .