Frank Serpico is one of the United States most infamous police officers. Although he has not worked in law enforcement since 1972, he is still largely talked about throughout the law enforcement community. In 1959, Serpico became a New York City police officer (“True Crime Authors”). Serpico prided himself on helping others and improving his community, although he soon realized his fellow officers had a different agenda. Throughout his career, Frank faced several ethical dilemmas, making his job significantly more difficult.
Ethical Dilemma One After graduating from the New York City Police Academy, Serpico began working as a uniformed patrol officer at the 81st prescient in Brooklyn. Upon arrival, Serpico instantly noticed that the …show more content…
Frank and two fellow undercover investigators, went to a suspected drug dealer’s residence, a scuffle took place and Frank got caught between the door frame and the door. Serpico yelled to his partners for help, but neither of them helped. As a result, Officer Serpico was shot in the face by the drug dealer. Frank Serpico’s recovery was extensive and arduous. His injuries left him permanently deaf in his left ear, and bullet fragments remained lodged just below his brain. Frank received his detective’s Gold Shield and the department’s Medal of Honor, which is the highest accolade a police officer can receive. In October of 1971, The Knapp Commission was formed to investigate the allegations of prevalent corruption. Serpico told his side of the story and testified for three hours. In June of 1972, Frank Serpico resigned from the NYPD at the age of 36. His first instinct was to leave New York City and escape the corruption and death threats all together. In 1987, Serpico decided to move back to New York and continue to speak out about corruption. Frank Serpico used his first-hand experience of corruption to educate others, often appearing as a guest speaker at police academies (“True Crime