For Boston police officers accused of crimes, legal troubles tend to just melt away

We recommend this Boston Globe article that quotes Howard: For Boston police officers accused of crimes, legal troubles tend to just melt away. The article describes police officers who committed serious crimes but avoided legal consequences, such as the drunk Boston police detective who hit a woman’s car with enough force that her head broke the windshield.

When police commit crimes, they rarely lose their jobs or face criminal charges. For some serious crimes, officers have been permitted to resign (often keeping their pensions) instead of being prosecuted. Even when officers are charged with crimes, they are less likely to be found guilty and more likely to receive a favorable sentence.

Police officers should not have a Get Out of Jail Free Card. Lots of jobs have perks, such as a store discount, flexible scheduling, or free snacks. But immunity from responsibility for drunk driving should not be a perk of the job. This is one of the reasons we need better accountability for police officers.