Befehl ist Befehl.
That is the simplest statement of the Nuremberg defense in German – “An order is an order.” Normally it is presented in the more elaborate form “I was just following orders” as a defense against prosecution.
Comrade Misfit has a post up, “Patrolman, Go Beat That Defenseless Old Woman to Death!”, that concerns the latest scandal in the NYPD, primarily dealing with fixing tickets, and has a picture of a protest by members of the patrolman’s union with signs that read “Just Following Orders”.
Fixing tickets is a Class A Misdemeanor in New York under Official Misconduct [Article 195.00 NYSPL]. Cops are paid to prevent crimes, not commit them. If someone in a white shirt told you to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you do it?
The defense didn’t work for the German General Staff, and it won’t work for NYPD officers.
2 comments
Picketing the prosecutors demanding special treatment doesn’t sound to me like a very good idea. I mean, they *need* these prosecutors to prosecute the people they arrest. Who in the world thinks it’s a good idea to piss off people you need?!
– Badtux the Baffled Penguin
They lose support from the community when they protest prosecution of the obviously guilty on strictly ‘tribal’ grounds. If they think the bosses were behind the actions, drop a dime on the bosses.
This doesn’t seem to be a concern when they arrest the street dealers and users while avoiding the upper levels of the gangs.