Behind the BLUE WALL...life of a NY cop

Behind the BLUE WALL...life of a NY cop N.S.U. the street

Graduation came and went and Eurell was assigned to N.S.U.14(neighborhood stablization unit). N.S.U.14 was located in the Brooklyn preceints of the 77,79,88. The new officers were to be patroling where the crime rate was high. Your to be a visible deterent said the C.O. For 90% of Eurells time in N.S.U. they stayed in the 77pct. This was the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. All the rookies were on their best behavior waiting to get off their one(1) year probation. It didn't take long before Eurell was tested.

Frank Essig was also assigned to the same unit. During one tour Eurell and Essig had a foot post near the 77 annex. They decided to go to the annex for their meal hour. The 77 annex also happens to be the building where a few of the scenes from the movie Serpico were filmed. Its an older police building with a large "desk" when you first walk in. Eurell and Essig walked into the annex lounge and the real cops(as rookies called them) were watching a ball game. They were also taking a $1.00 collection from each officer to go get some beer. Eurell and Essig just being rookies went along with the veterans and gave in their dollar. While they were there for their hour meal Eurell and Essig each had two beers. At the end of the hour the rookies stood up to go back out on patrol. "Where do you think you two are going?" the sargent stated. "Back to post boss our meals over" said Eurell and Essig. "Sit down you get more than two beers for a buck." replied the boss. For the remainder of that tour they stayed in the lounge drinking. This was Eurells first day of drinking on the job. Drinking as stated earlier became an everyday routine,but that would be the least of Eurells problems in the years to come.

Eurells first involvement with corruption came during N.S.U. He wasn't even aware of it until many years later. Again the influence of veteran officers set the path for the rookies.

Eurell and Essig were present at the 77 annex when the desk Sgt. gave the OK to some of the FTOs to go do something. (FTO meant field training officer. They were responsible for teaching the new officers like Eurell the correct and safe way to perform police work) According to Eurell the FTOs were "all pumped up". They told Eurell and Essig to come along. Eurell and Essigs willingness to consume alcohol on duty led to their being accepted and trusted by the veterans. The veteran officers started jogging down the street with their nightsticks in hand. A few stores down from the annex itself they stopped at what Eurell and Essig thought was just a bodega(spanish grocery). The veteran officers started to take apart the store piece by piece. This included the heavy plexiglass window that went from the top of the front counter to the ceiling. The whole time Eurell and Essig are standing there in total amazement. At the finish of destruction Eurell and Essig hit and broke some shelves in order to "fit in". The clerk was smacked around and thrown out the front door being told to never come back.

In reality the bodega was just a front for drug sales. The lesson Eurell learned from this was "thats how you stop drug sales." It wasn't until years later when he became involved in corruption of his own that he recalled the event. He realized the clerk wasn't arrested for the drug sales,the drugs wern't vouchered as evidence and neither was the money. He knew it was a quicker and more effective way of stopping the sale of drugs. He also knew that was crossing the line between cop and criminal. Later in his career he felt an allegiance to both. Right then he just thought thats how things were done. Essig and Eurell w/ big O.T. checks

The remainder of Eurells time in NSU was pretty uneventful in terms of his story. There were amusing, touching, and dangerous events like every other cop in America experiences. He made his first few arrests and became very close to a few officers. One being Frank Essig who he now went through the academy and NSU with.

Eurell made a point to say not all the veterans and FTOs were cynical. He stated one FTO in paticuliar made a real effort to teach the new cops the correct way to do police work. "He never did anything that could be considered inappropriate." That officers name was Det. Nick Caseles.

Of the veterans who busted up the bodega when Eurell was present one was arrested in the 77pct. corruption scandle of the mid-1980s.

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