50. NCPD Whistleblowers

Truth is power. Voicing the truth under the threat of retaliation or termination takes even greater power. When rank-and-file police officers saw inappropriate and allegedly illegal behavior taking place behind the Blue Wall of Silence—the preferential treatment of a wealthy police donor’s son—they spoke out. Doing so led to the biggest news story on Long Island this year to date—Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice’s indictment of the county’s third-highest ranking police official, Second Deputy Commissioner William Flanagan, Deputy Chief Inspector John Hunter and Detective Sergeant Alan Sharpe on corruption charges. Because, unfortunately, power can also be abused.