Most drunk drivers are met with harsh penalties for their actions, but an investigation by the Boston Globe that looked specifically at cops in Massachusetts found that police officers who are caught driving drunk while off-duty frequently receive special lenience. In one case the Globe reported, an officer was reassigned to administrative duty after he lost his license for refusing a breathalyzer test. He continued collecting his salary of $130,000 per year, was acquitted on legal technicalities, and soon went back to patrol work.
It is difficult to get statistical context for this story, because little is available in the way of comprehensive data. However, a 2008 commission in Massachusetts found unanimous agreement among police officers that "the routine and customary practice when a [traffic] stop is made on a fellow police officer, is to show professional courtesy and not call in the stop."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nigel Hamilton's 6 inspirational books for fellow writersFeature The award-winning author recommends works by John Banville, Ann Patchett, and more
-
The winners and losers in Gaetz's rise and fallThe Explainer The implosion of Donald Trump's first pick to run the Department of Justice was part fluke, part feature and part forecast of the president-elect's incoming administration
-
6 outstanding homes for under $600KFeature Featuring heated concrete floors in New Mexico and an outdoor movie screen in Washington, D.C.
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
