"Serpico" Ethical Issues

Serpico is about a New York police officer, Frank Serpico, or “Paco”, who got shot in the face for reporting police corruption in the New York Police Department (NYPD). Fellow officers did not help him when he was wounded. This movie portrayed real life events and factors that go on in our police forces today. There are a lot of ethical issues that go on in this movie. Men are beaten, punished, lied to, and deceived by police officers. Serpico testified against all police corruption and was left derelict in a crucial time of need. Officers today need to work together in a positive and ethical way in order to get their job done the right way. This film really grabbed my interest by depicting real life situations and corruption in today’s police forces. Frank Serpico was an honest cop who just wanted to do his job with no questions; to protect and to serve. Officers of the NYPD were accepting bribes from criminals and possibly selling drugs to make extra money. Police corruption is abuse of public office for personal benefits. If police are corrupt, then they are not protecting or serving the public as necessary. Officers allow these sorts of violence and drug behavior to continue just so they can earn an extra dollar or two. The ethical issues involved in this film include police acts of violence on criminals, accepting bribes, and selling drugs to make extra money. The police are using their own source of power to commit crimes and allowing acts of violence to occur so they can make money or avoid getting hurt related to criminal activity. One of Serpico’s colleagues beat a man that was arrested in order to try to get information on where his other friends might have gone. Serpico, being the kind officer he is, took that young male across the street for a cup of coffee. Frank treated the criminal like a normal human being, talked to him, and bought him coffee in order to retrieve the vital information. Paco was very ethical about the way he did things in the