What Lynch Understood: Cops Can’t Be Outlaws

The first contested election in 12 years for Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association president concludes this week, and one of the most-remarkable aspects of it is the lack of focus from any of the participants on what Len Levitt in his blog two weeks ago called the “most-notable accomplishment” of Pat Lynch’s 16-year tenure: “bringing the union into the 21st century largely corruption-free.”

It’s easy to understand why Mr. Lynch’s camp has refrained from raising the corruption issue in connection with the charges of ticket-fixing leveled against three candidates on main challenger Brian Fusco’s slate, including Mr. Fusco himself. For one thing, the union officials who have been charged are widely believed to have been performing this duty as part of their PBA portfolios; for another, there is apparently a sense among many cops that they were doing so with the tacit encouragement of people high up in the NYPD chain of command, as well as the union’s leadership.