NYPD doesn't lime to talk about it and frequently denies it ever happened, but in the Tamany Hall days the governor of NY actually called in the State Militia to arrest the mayor AND SHUT DOWN the NYC "Metropolitans", the first PD in NYC. That's right, the original "NYPD" has shut down for corruption and replaced, lock stock and barrel.
And the NYPD has had corruption problems, scandals, and other issues including ticket quotas, profiling, some of the worst firearms training in the nation. Ask any gunsmith what an "NYPD trigger job" on a Glock is all about.
When we call them NYC's Finest that just means we couldn't find any better.
OTOH, the State Troopers will point out that their standards and professionalism are pitched to a higher level. Not that they are perfect--but if you thought there was a leak within the NYPD or in a particular precinct, and you wanted to bring in outside players to do a major raid, using the Troopers makes perfect sense. Nothing unusual or improper about that.
Over the years, I have *twice* made a left turn, with a green light, on a 4-lane two-way street. Only to find an NYPD vehicle with no lights or sirens coming right at me, against traffic. That's illegal unless they are on code, and plain STUPID at any time. I have located a car stolen during an armed robbery, two hours after NYPD supposedly began looking, parked with engine cold in a "No Standing Tow Away" zone in a prominent location that was regularly patrolled, with a BOLO out on the car.
There are a number of underpaid overworked honest and good people working on the NYPD, but also, sadly, enough bullies and bozos to make them less than they ought to be. (And of course, that's not unique to the NYPD, either.)
