{"id":10498,"date":"2024-01-06T21:49:55","date_gmt":"2024-01-07T02:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/herkimerpost.com\/?p=10498"},"modified":"2025-01-03T13:13:23","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T18:13:23","slug":"herkimer-gangs-fade-danger-remains-the-crippen-carpenter-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/herkimerpost.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/06\/herkimer-gangs-fade-danger-remains-the-crippen-carpenter-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"Herkimer Gangs Fade, Danger Remains: The Crippen-Carpenter Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stephen Ames Berry<\/a><\/p>\n

“The Crippen-Carpenter Effect: an unwitting dark synergy of nonfeasance and malfeasance…<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

2023 saw Herkimer’s long-entrenched drug and child trafficking gangs fade away. Gang-central Pleasant Avenue has rejoined civilization. It’s a delight after ten years of menacing, assaults<\/a> and hundreds of poison gas attacks<\/a> to bask in the silence along Pleasant Avenue and to chat with decent new neighbors.<\/p>\n

Still with us, though, and clouding Herkimer’s future, are two complementary pillars of enduring rot that continue to make us all unsafe: District Attorney Jeffrey Carpenter and Herkimer Police Officer Jason Crippen. <\/p>\n

Carpenter’s unblushing sweetheart plea bargains <\/a>and Crippen’s sneering suppression of citizen complaints and false incident reporting<\/a> form the Crippen-Carpenter Effect: an unwitting dark synergy of nonfeasance and malfeasance, creating a dangerous community in which the law is flouted, criminals go free and people aren’t safe. If Crippen can’t put the shutup on your complaint, Carpenter can arrange a cheap plea deal. Between the two of them, Herkimer’s gangs were for years assured a steady supply of jail-free workers while the rest of us took our chances.<\/p>\n

The good news for the Herkimer police is that they no longer have to blatantly ignore wholesale trafficking out of obvious long-time gang hubs. <\/a>Nor do they have to scramble to avoid taking evidence-based complaints: the gangbangers are gone. <\/a><\/p>\n

End of the Trail<\/h1>\n
\"8.3.23<\/a>
8.3.23 Brooding Herkimer gangbanger moves out of long-time drug and child trafficking central at 328 Pleasant Avenue. It and two adjacent properties long sheltered active drug and child traffickers. It was Herkimer’s Historic Child Trafficking Hub.<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gangs need poverty to flourish. The Rust Belt’s long hardscrabble existence is ending as a rising tide of prosperity sweeps the region. It’s eliminated the Section 8 housing that used to barrack Herkimer’s drug and child trafficking gangs. As property values continue to rise, owners are rehabbing houses and either selling them or renting them to newcomers, many of them driven by climate change, flock to climate-safe Central and Upstate New York. Google Guide Linda Kaidan’s photos of the Herkimer area have drawn 15 million views via Google Maps. <\/a><\/p>\n

Climate Migration Banishes Gangs<\/h1>\n

Stepped-up regional and federal law enforcement has helped convince traffickers to move on; a flotilla of federal surveillance drones often fills our night sky. Hundreds of billions of dollars are being invested in chip fabrication facilities spanning the Mohawk Valley on into Syracuse. Rust Belt gangs won’t be allowed to threaten what’s becoming the heart of America’s and the Rust Belt’s economic rebirth.<\/p>\n

And yet…<\/p>\n

Officer Jason Crippen – The Sorry Saga Continues<\/h1>\n

It’s disappointing to see Jason Crippen still on the Herkimer Police, patrolling with impunity despite the many recently revealed and substantiated complaints against him. Crippen’s continued wearing of a badge reflects a decision by Herkimer Police Chief Michael Jory to prioritize the protection of his officers over that of the community. Unfortunately, it’s a very common decision.<\/p>\n

\"Herkimer<\/a>
Herkimer Police Chief Michael Jory in 2017. Don’t be fooled by his “Aw, shucks, I’m just a simple country boy” shtick. He’s sharp and perceptive.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Says police oversight specialist, Professor Daniel Bodah of  John Jay College of Criminal Justice:<\/a> “It’s important for the police and the general public that (discipline) records are open. Departments opposed to making police disciplinary records public are possibly looking to shield officers and themselves from potential embarrassment. It’s a desire to not hurt the person, not a desire to have honest policing.” <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Certainly, the Herkimer Police Department has a lot to be embarrassed about, which we saw when three years of litigation finally compelled the release of the village’s police discipline records. The files reflected with the Utica Observer charitably called “substandard [police] performance” over many years.<\/a><\/p>\n

Crippen tased a suspected shoplifter he knew to be pregnant. Left his service pistol lying about in a public area. Allegedly filed a false police report to revenge himself on a citizen who chastised him for driving recklessly. Why does a public embarrassment like Crippen enjoy continued protection as he imperils the community? Does he know where the bodies are buried? The money laundered?<\/p>\n

Complaints Against Officer Jason Crippen<\/h1>\n
\"6.16.22<\/a>
6.16.22 Herkimer Police Officer Jason Crippen trying to intimidate Herkimer Post’s Stephen Ames Berry under the color of law.<\/span><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here are the publicly known complaints filed against Crippen, most only recently released after a three-year Freedom of Information lawsuit<\/a> by Gannett\/USA Today against the Herkimer Police and its brazen  flouting of New York law:<\/p>\n