In law enforcement in the United States, a wandering officer,[1][2][3][4] referred to colloquially as a gypsy cop, is a police officer who frequently transfers between police departments, with a record of misconduct or unsuitable job performance.[5][6][7][8][9][10]

History of the term

In use since the 1980s,[11] the phrase entered public parlance in the 2000s after the infamous Tulia drug stings, where itinerant lawman Tom Coleman allegedly set up innocent people, most of them black, as part of a long-term undercover operation.[12] Several other high-profile cases in states include those in Texas and Alaska that involved officers who served with adversity in close to 20 agencies in 15 years or less, yet they continued to evade administrative action as they went from agency to agency, sometimes serving as little as 30 days at one department, despite blatant misconduct and compelling signs of unsuitability to serve as peace officers. More recently in 2016 following a civil rights lawsuit against Ferguson police officer Freddie Boyd, he was found to have had a string of complaints filed against him from over 10 years earlier, including pistol whipping a child and falsifying police reports, from when he worked for the city of St. Louis.[13]

The term comes from the Romani people popularly known as "Gypsies", who are stereotypically said to always be travelling and thus never get to settle down in a local community, just like how a gypsy cop never gets to stay at any given police department for long. Some dictionaries recommend against using the word gypsy as a modifier with negative connotations, because such use could be considered a slur against the Romani people.[14][15][16][17][18][19]

Causes

Fragmentation

Law enforcement in the United States is decentralized, with approximately 18,000 agencies operating under separate regulatory frameworks in each state and territory. Hiring and disciplinary standards vary among departments, and there is no national database of dismissed officers or uniform process for decertification.[20] Some states maintain their own databases or have adopted administrative measures intended to prevent dismissed officers from being rehired, but these systems are not centralized and lack uniform standards. Because of the country's size and the number of agencies, an officer dismissed by one department may be hired by another in a distant jurisdiction without the new employer becoming aware of the prior dismissal.

Incentives for hiring

Wandering officers typically move between agencies as lateral transfers, meaning officers who have already completed training and certification. Such candidates are often preferred over new recruits because the hiring process is shorter and less costly. Some agencies hire wandering officers despite knowledge of their prior dismissals, citing recruitment difficulties associated with smaller applicant pools, lower pay, limited training and advancement opportunities, and reduced prestige. In agencies with fewer than ten officers, a single vacancy can strain the department's ability to provide continuous coverage, creating pressure to fill the position quickly.[21]

Incentives for concealing a misconduct dismissal

Problem officers are often allowed to resign in seemingly good standing and then go to another unsuspecting agency with a good recommendation from a previous chief or sheriff, who is eager to get rid of the problem officer. In other cases, small agencies with limited budgets may fear a costly lawsuit if they dismiss an officer through a formal disciplinary process. An officer who is facing a misconduct dismissal will often threaten the agency and its governmental entity with costly, lengthy, and unflattering litigation for wrongful discipline or wrongful unfit or adverse termination and make such claims public. An officer finally can often negotiate a positive departure from an agency once they realize that they can no longer continue to work there. They can leave with an apparent clean and positive record and the agency is simply relieved to be rid of the officer, who goes to another unsuspecting agency.

Attempts to report problem officers by agencies can be overruled and overturned by administrative law hearings and actions. Such a ruling can be interpreted as a rebuke of the agency and can be a basis for the officer to litigate against the reporting agency. Fear of this potential outcome is also a factor in many agency heads simply taking the path of least resistance and giving a separating officer a positive report of separation.

Most states have a consolidated retirement system for state, county and municipal peace officers, which is unaffected by transfers between agencies so long as continued employment occurs and can thus further provide incentive for both good and bad officers to move frequently between agencies.

See also

References

  1. ^ Rappaport, Ben Grunwald & John. "The Wandering Officer". www.yalelawjournal.org. Archived July 15, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  2. ^ "The Problem with "Wandering" Police Officers". Mises Institute. June 12, 2020. Archived June 29, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  3. ^ "'Wandering' Cops Pose Risk to Communities: Study". The Crime Report. May 26, 2020. Archived July 14, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  4. ^ Lalwani, Nikita & Johnston, Mitchell. "Analysis | What happens when a police officer gets fired? Very often another police agency hires them.". Washington Post. Archived July 18, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Williams, Timothy (September 10, 2016). "Cast-Out Police Officers Are Often Hired in Other Cities". The New York Times. Archived October 2, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  6. ^ Kelly, Kimbriell; Lowery, Wesley; Rich, Steven (August 3, 2017). "Fired/Rehired: Police chiefs are often forced to put officers fired for misconduct back on the streets". Washington Post. Archived September 7, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  7. ^ Friedersdorf, Conor (December 2, 2014). "How Police Unions and Arbitrators Keep Abusive Cops on the Street". The Atlantic. Archived October 2, 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  8. ^ Barker, Tom (2011). Police ethics: crisis in law enforcement. 3rd ed. Chares C. Thomas. p. 134. ISBN 978-0398086152. Archived June 3, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved October 1, 2017.
  9. ^ "Push to keep "gypsy cops" with questionable pasts off the streets". CBS News. 27 September 2016. Archived June 3, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  10. ^ "Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States". Human Rights Watch. Archived October 5, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  11. ^ Stott, Kim (1983-10-30). "State Lawmen Work To Stop "Gypsy Cops'". Oklahoman.com. Archived May 20, 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  12. ^ Mangold, Tom (2003-03-01). "Texas narcotics investigations flawed". Archived January 8, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  13. ^ "Push to keep "gypsy cops" with questionable pasts off the streets". CBS News. September 27, 2016. Archived June 3, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  14. ^ Dalzell, Tom (ed.) (2007). The new Partridge dictionary of slang and unconventional English. Reprint. ed. London [u.a.]: Routledge. p. 943. ISBN 978-0415259378.
  15. ^ Merriam-Webster's pocket guide to English usage.. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster. 1998. p. 178. ISBN 0877795142.
  16. ^ Garner, Bryan A. (2009). Garner's modern American usage. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 405. ISBN 978-0195382754.
  17. ^ Baskin, [by] H.E. Wedeck with the assistance of Wade (1973). Dictionary of gypsy life and lore. New York: Philosophical Library. ISBN 0806529857.
  18. ^ Garner, Bryan A. (2011). A dictionary of modern legal usage. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 400. ISBN 978-0195384208.
  19. ^ Bolaffi, Guido (ed.) (2002). Dictionary of race, ethnicity and culture. 1. publ., [Nachdr.]. ed. London: Sage. p. 291. ISBN 0761969004.
  20. ^ "A national registry of problem police officers would require major changes by states". Los Angeles Times. June 26, 2020. Archived April 21, 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  21. ^ Pilcher, James; Hegarty, Aaron; Litke, Eric; Nichols, Mark (24 April 2019). "Fired for a felony, again for perjury. Meet the new police chief.". USA Today. Archived April 26, 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 27 April 2019.