Shucking the Blinders

Hearing the cops coming, the burglar drops the sack of stolen jewelry and flees. Seconds later, two uniformed patrolmen discover the loot left behind. "Holy Christ!" exclaims one mustachioed cop bending over the bag. "Look at this."

(Freeze.)

Sergeant Andy Danschisch of the New York City police department's internal affairs division suddenly stops the videotaped drama and looks out at his "Integrity Training" class of 38 police academy students. "What kind of situation is this?" he asks. "Very tempting," offers one student. The class laughs. Danschisch is not amused. The brand-new mandatory 10-hour course uses films and actual case histories to prepare the future cops for the ethical pressures they will face. Instructors like Danschisch take the program very seriously. The video tape moves again. "I'm sure this guy's insured," the rogue cop says of the jewel robbery victim. Danschisch interrupts: "A typical rationale. Pretty soon somebody says to you in these situations, 'Don't worry about it.' That's when you should worry."

During a break the students and instructors mingle. "How are you going to change something that has been going on for so many years?" asks a recruit. "Maybe the street just crumbles you," says another. Detective Lynn Cutler replies: "When you help people day in and day out and don't get the thanks you think you deserve, it's rough. I know that. But your job is to be a professional. We didn't say it was easy."

Danschisch remembers how easy it is to look the other way. "I did it," he says. "I put the blinders on." Why did he change? "I used to ignore the stories. But when the headlines hit--COP ARRESTED--it bothered me. I would go to cocktail parties and mumble, 'I work for the city' when people asked what I did for a living. Maybe it was the cocktail parties that made me change. I don't know." Now maybe it will be his students who help the force to change.

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