New law will cuff cops

Last year, a former colleague and fellow NYPD historian gave me copies of the entire NYPD case file on the Charles Lindbergh Jr. kidnapping/murder that took place on March 1, 1932.

Knowing I had written about the crime in my books, he offered it to me, with the idea that the file might contain some previously unknown information that would shed new light on how the NYPD solved a crime that occurred in Hopewell, New Jersey, some 75 miles outside the department’s jurisdiction. It took me more than six months to sort through the 30,000 pages of police reports. 

In the end, I concluded that the file, despite the tens of thousands of man-hours detectives put in trying to solve the case, was mostly useless. The detectives investigated every single call, every single letter and every single in person allegation that came across their desks. Charles Lindbergh was an international hero. 

Reports submitted by people offering their services, whether they were seers, amateur sleuths or just individuals who sincerely believed they could help crack the case, came in from across the globe. Each corresponding police follow-up for the next two-and-a-half years was classified as “UNFOUNDED.” 

The case remained unsolved until the kidnapper made the mistake of purchasing 98 cents of gasoline in the Bronx with a $10 gold certificate. The gas station attendant jotted the license plate number of the car on the back of the note because the government was in the process of phasing out the gold standard and switching to silver. The attendant was afraid the bank would not accept the bill and he would be on the hook for 98 cents. 

What he didn’t know was that the bill was part of the $50,000 in ransom money Lindbergh had paid the kidnapper for the safe return of his son. What he didn’t know was that his son was dead. Fortunately, Lindbergh wrote down all of the serial numbers of bills beforehand. 

Banks across America were instructed to be on the lookout for the ransom money. Once the police got their break, the case was quickly solved. Bruno Hauptmann was arrested and eventually executed for the kidnapping. Meanwhile, the tens of thousands of pages detailing the extreme lengths detectives went to solve the case were worthless. 

It's no secret that the NYPD is an extreme paperwork generator. But the City Council is about to task the department with a ridiculous new law, 586-A, that will generate so many thousands of pages of worthless reports that the Lindbergh case will look like a yellow sticky-note pad in comparison.   

The law, sponsored by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and passed by a veto-proof majority of the Council, will require NYPD officers to file reports on each and every single “investigative encounter” they have with the public, which includes just about everything but saying hello or offering directions. 

In reality, this is just another clever method by the progressives to tie the hands of police and keep them from performing their primary function — to prevent crime, investigate crime and arrest criminals. Meanwhile, the officers still will be recording these encounters with their body-worn cameras, which apparently has not been the panacea that the progressives thought it would be. In addition, police officers are still required to provide civilians they encounter with a business card that has their name and command on it.     

So, it begs the question, what are the progressives up to? Why the overkill? The hidden purpose of the law is to find another way to skew statistics in order for progressives to advance their political agenda that the NYPD is a racist organization. 

This is evidenced by the first question police officers who fill out these reports will be required to answer. What is the apparent race, gender and age of the member of the public involved in the investigative encounter? This information, along with other information the officers will be required to obtain that is readily available in other reports, will then be disseminated on a quarterly basis. 

Since the majority of city residents are members of minority communities, there can only be one outcome. The number of minority investigative encounters will be higher while the amount of time that police officers are actually patrolling the streets will be lower, much to the chagrin of Mayor Eric Adams who already has his hands full trying to keep the lid on crime during these ever increasingly volatile times.  

Bernard Whalen is a former NYPD lieutenant and co-author of “The NYPD’s First Fifty Years” and “Case Files of the NYPD.” 

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