‘Professional courtesy’ snares trooper in internal affairs probe

We recommend this article about a Massachusetts State Trooper who was not charged with a crime by police officers in Las Vegas because he is a police officer: ‘Professional courtesy’ snares trooper in internal affairs probe. 5 Investigates learned through public records and body camera footage that former trooper Andrew Patterson was involved in an intoxicated confrontation at a Las Vegas hotel. After learning he was a police officer, the Las Vegas police offered to escort him out instead of arresting him. “Yeah, we’re all good. We’re all cops, relax,” said one officer. The Massachusetts State Police later learned about the incident from Las Vegas’s Internal Affairs department, which was investigating the misconduct of its own officers.

Police officers should not get free passes to commit crimes. Police officers should be held to a higher standard of conduct than members of the public because they carry guns and are granted considerable power. Yet, “professional courtesy” results in officers being held to a lower standard. It leads police officers to feel the law does not apply to them.

After a second incident in which Patterson was accused of masturbating in his seat at Gillette Stadium, he resigned from the Massachusetts State Police. He will collect a $65,000-a-year disability pension for the rest of his life.