NY-NJ bridge policeman earns $221,000. NEW YORK (AP) — A rank-and-file policeman at the George Washington Bridge has made more than $200,000 so far this year, along with dozens of other police officers for the agency that patrols New York City's airports, the tunnels under the Hudson River and the new World Trade Center site.
Payroll figures and names released for the first time Friday by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey show 66 police officers have made more than $200,000 so far in 2011, thanks to overtime that in many cases has doubled their salaries. The bridge patrolman made $221,706. A sergeant on a special-operations team pulled in $265,059.
That puts him far above executives like Aviation Director Susan Baer, who oversees three of the world's busiest airports — JFK, LaGuardia and Newark — and two other airports. She's made $237,971 so far this year. The Port Authority Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents most of the police, says the high overtime numbers are the agency's own fault. Cleveland Passes Laws to Prevent 'Flash Mobs' Cleveland officials say cell phones and computers could be considered as criminal tools if they’re used to rally “flash mobs,” targeting them in an ordinance made to prevent rioting.
City Council members have voted to make not only actual rioting, but inciting riots a crime, adding computers and phones to a list of items considered criminal tools, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Violators could be sentenced up to six months in jail and fined $1,000 not only for using messages to incite riots, but if they accept messages and then show up where a riot takes place. The city previously tried to outlaw use of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to rally mobs, but backed off after critics said their plans were unconstitutional and violated free speech.
James Hardiman, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said the new ordinance is also flawed and predicts it will be challenged. “Apparently the city of Cleveland doesn’t have enough to do,” Hardiman said. NYPD Officers Post Blatantly Racist Hate Speech on Facebook. The New York Times has obtained a 76-page document made up of mostly racist comments that were posted on a Facebook group created for New York City Police Department officers to vent about being assigned to patrol Brooklyn’s West Indian Day Parade.
They called people “animals” and “savages.” One comment said, “Drop a bomb and wipe them all out.” The Times compared the names of 150 who commented on the Facebook group called “No More West Indian Day Detail” and found more than 60 percent matched the names of police officers. Before the group was deleted, it grew to some 1,200 members. The group also included fire department members. Officers were upset they had to work the West Indian Day Parade because it’s seen violent outbursts in the past few years.
The entire parade weekend is not riddled with violence, and some NYPD officers look forward to bumping and grinding with paradegoers. Still, some officers wanted nothing to do with the parade. Denver Police Texts: DPD Cops Text About #OccupyDenver, Call Protesters 'Pathetic' (PHOTOS) Ever wonder what Denver Police really think of the Occupy Denver protesters?
Well, we can now know exactly that -- the Denver Police Department have just released a series of text messages, internal car-to-car communications, between officers involved in policing the protesters. The message release comes with a caveat from DPD: Unfortunately, a few communications between individual officers through a car-to-car text system have not met the standard of professionalism expected by the Denver Police Department and the citizens of Denver in regards to the Occupy Denver protests.
We recognize this and have already taken steps to address the behavior and to remind all officers of our expectations. The Denver Police Department regrets the tenor and tone of some of these texts. Check out a selection of some of the more colorful texts below. Read the entire text release from DPD below:DPD Car to Car Text Messages.