When A Cop Lies About Sex
http://www.villagevoice.com/2012-06-27/news/Vincent-Roberson-Palisades-Gail-Lawrence/
Now comes a sordid tale of sex, abuse of power, and rampant text messaging from the mixed-up files of the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police Department.
The PIPPD, tiny as police departments go in size and jurisdiction, has fewer than 30 officers to patrol an 11-mile stretch of the Palisades Interstate Parkway near Palisades Park, a gorgeous strip of woods and cliffs on the west side of the Hudson River, extending north from the George Washington Bridge.
The main thing these officers do is issue speeding tickets. Drivers unfortunate enough to get a ticket have to appear before a small court in Alpine, New Jersey. Over the years, the PIPPD has been accused of targeting gay men and Jewish motorists, and of being overly aggressive. The court has been compared to something out of My Cousin Vinny.
Enter Gail Lawrence, a 46-year-old Brooklyn woman who managed to rack up more than $5,000 in traffic fines, mostly for speeding and tailgating on the parkway over the past several years. Lawrence acknowledges that she isn't the greatest driver in the world, and she admits that she behaved erratically at times and has had psychological issues as a result of an abusive 10-year marriage. But that's not what this story is about.