They won't back down

I know I'm echoing slightly what I wrote here last week, but no matter what happens here in the weeks ahead, I'm so proud to be able to say I've worked with journalists like Wendy Ruderman and Barbara Laker, who've been writing a series of articles about police corruption in Philadelphia called "Tainted Justice." The stories themselves are vital, showing what can happen can happen when an alleged rogue cop undermines efforts to control the illegal drug trade.

Here's the latest:

WHEN Officer Jeffrey Cujdik learned that one of his informants, Tiffany Gorham, was arrested on robbery and aggravated-assault charges last year, he provided cash to bail her out of jail, Gorham's mother has told the Daily News.

The story notes:

Under police rules, however, officers must maintain a strictly professional relationship with informants. Like the alleged house rental, providing cash to bail out an informant would "cross the line," said a high-ranking police source.

"That would not be ethical," the source said.

But the stories aren't the half of it. Forget whatever outgoing DA Lynne Abraham claims about herself, because when it comes to "tough cookies," Ruderman and Laker are the real deal. They have withstood all kinds of assaults -- verbal, email, and worse, some of it chronicled here by Jill Porter -- to write these articles, and today they are sending out the message that they and the Daily News won't back down.

Everybody wants the Philadelphia police to succeed. They work some of the meanest streets in America, and we are all shocked and saddened by the enormous loss that the force has suffered in the last few years. But to act as an undiscriminating all-out cheerleader all of the time for every single officer -- regardless of his or her own personal conduct -- would be a huge disservice to the entire city, and but frankly it would be the biggest disservice to thousands of brave cops who risk their lives daily -- but manage to obey the rules at the same time.

As a union member myself, I understand the FOP's necessary role in providing this guy a basic defense, but in the broader context I don't understand why cops so voraciously stand up for the few bad apples among them. For all the pride I feel in co-workers like Laker and Ruderman, I also feel ashamed by journalists like a Jayson Blair or a Judy Miller who, in very different ways, disgraced our profession. And if I were a good cop, I think I'd be furious at the bad ones, not the good people who bring them to the public's attention.