In this installment of “On the Case,” we talk to Detective Derick Waller, who is one of the NYPD 12, a group of minority officers who sued New York City and the department in 2016 over the use of illegal and discriminatory arrest quotas. Detective Waller retired from the NYPD on August 31, 2016, after serving 21-3/4 years. He is featured in the documentary, “Crime + Punishment,” which won a Special Jury Award for Social Impact at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and will be screened at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on June 24. You can learn more about the documentary here.
What made you want to be a cop?
I grew up in Jamaica, Queens, in a very racist neighborhood. I remember there was one other black kid in my neighborhood who actually lived in my building, so of course we became friends. It was so bad that whenever we’d go to the store, I’d either have to go get him, or he’d come get me, simply for safety. We’d often get chased by this group of older whites who were associated with a softball team. On one occasion, we were chased and separated. My friend Sean was caught, beaten, and his teeth were kicked out. His lips were badly torn because at that time he wore braces. I guess, looking back into my youth, that had a lot to do with me making the choice to be an officer. Also, when my uncle finished his four-year contract with the U.S. Marine Corps, he became a state trooper. Being a police officer is not for everyone: it’s a calling to want to help people!
What kinds of cases did you work on?
I was promoted to the rank of detective while working for OCCB (Organized Crime Control Bureau). My duties were to buy drugs and guns and to meet “John Does” and make cases with them, in an attempt to get them off the streets. Acid, meth, crack, heroin, and weed (at that time) were the main concern of NYPD undercovers.
Tell us about arrest quotas. What are they and how do they work?
Arrest quotas are set numbers given to officers for arrests per month. Quotas are illegal, but no one polices the Police Department. An officer must come up with these numbers or the HAMMER will fall on them. Each precinct has a different quota set. Those who do not reform will be retaliated against. The retaliation we face usually starts with some type of verbal warning: you’re brought into an office and spoken to by your platoon commanders. Shortly after, you find you’re given minor violations and placed in a minor violation log book for things that most other officers get away with, like coming in literally two seconds late, or not wearing a hat on post. All your paperwork is thoroughly checked. One of the first things the department will do, if you’re a senior officer and you have a steady partner: they’ll split you two apart! Officers are given bogus “CDs,” command disciplines that can take away hours or even months of pay. They may be transferred to the farthest precinct from where they live. If [your supervisors] know you’re a single parent or mom and you don’t conform, they’ll change your tours just to make your life hard. They know you work days, which is 7 am to 3:30 pm, in order to get your children from school and cook dinner and prepare them for school the next day. The department will intentionally change your tours to midnights! Also, they may give you low evaluations, which can screw up your career.
Who are the NYPD 12?
The NYPD 12 is a group of minority officers who spoke publicly against illegal quotas in the New York City Police Department and who are part of an ongoing federal class action lawsuit against the NYPD.
What’s the best way for crime writers to research politically sensitive or controversial issues (the kind that result in lawsuits) and get it right? Would you ever take a writer on a ride-along?
Basically, like any story, you can do your research: google “NYS laws on quotas.” Yes, I’d take a mystery writer on ride-along. But you’d have to go through police headquarters to get permission.
–Interview by S.A. Solomon
(Pictured above: top right, Detective Derick Waller in uniform; at left, Detective Waller with Frank Serpico, who famously exposed police corruption in the NYPD in the early 1970s.)
Hear more from Detective Waller about his career, arrest quotas, the NYPD 12, and the documentary at our meeting on Wednesday, June 6, at 6 pm at the Club Quarters Hotel in Midtown. RSVP here.