It was a highly praised and highly rated show that glorified
the beating up and torture of suspects.
One of the main characters, a white detective named Sipowicz, was a racist who,
while he kept his views (for the most part) out of his job, routinely beat up and
slapped around suspects. He was lauded by his Lieutenant (an African American)
who did not like him, but recognized him for getting "results."
Unfortunately, Sipowicz wasn't the only detective in the precinct who indulged
in such actions. Another white detective, Kelly (played by David Caruso), in one
episode, told one suspect that he had alone in the interrogation room to confess to a
murder or he'd give him the "beating of his life." When a younger detective
asked him what if he beat a confession out of the wrong person, Kelly only replied,
"then God forgive me. That's all I can tell you."
In another episode, Sipowicz joins with another detective to torture a suspect
in one of the detective cars, snarling at him that "you ain't got no rights."
These people were presented by the show as heroes.
I know that such things routinely happen(ed) in police stations; I have no problem
with gritty, realistic portrayals of life. But to present such behavior as if it should
be admired, and to "conveniently" never be done by mistake or otherwise to an
innocent person, at least before I was done with the series, is beyond the pale.
Thankfully the show's creators and producers never showed either of these guys
beating up an African American.
Dennis Franz, who played Sipowicz, talked in one interview about the praise that he
had gotten from actual cops, regarding his portrayal.
It's been more than twenty years since the show finished its run but nevertheless,
I still remember how I was often appalled at it, and by the indifference to those
issues that all those singing the show's praises displayed.
Fortunately, I don't think that such as show would go over as well now (I hope).
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