Criminal Justice Quote: Ex-NYPD Cop Charged With Painting Anti-Semitic Graffiti

    A former NYPD officer has been arrested after allegedly spray-painting anti-Semitic graffiti all over one Brooklyn neighborhood. Michael Setiawan was arrested Sunday, May 4, 2014 after Swastikas and hate messages were found on 15 cars and four buildings in Borough Park, including the front doors of an elementary school….Most of the graffiti was…near a Jewish synagogue.

     Setiawan, 36, was an officer with the NYPD for two years. According to police, he "separated with the department" in 2007. He is being charged with criminal mischief and aggravated harassment, both as hate crimes….

    Setiawan and his parents, who emigrated from Indonesia in 1989, share a home in Queens. His father, Thomas Setiawan, told the Associated Press that the family did not know why Michael was no longer a police officer but said his son has had mental health issues and that he was depressed and suicidal after leaving the police force….

"Former NYPD Officer Arrested for Anti-Semitic Graffiti in Brooklyn," NBC New York, May 5, 2014 

Criminal Justice Quote: Smart Car Tipping

     How many goofballs does it take to flip over a Smart Car? Andrew Smith wants to know. Early Monday morning, April 7, 2014, he heard a loud racket outside his apartment in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood and thought nothing of it. Then a neighbor knocked on his door and told him that his wife's 2009 Smart Car--all 1,808 pounds of it--was sitting on its roof….

     San Francisco was abuzz over the trail of the tiny two seaters that were turned on their sides. A fourth car had been propped up on its rear end….San Francisco police said car flippers had also struck in the Exceisior neighborhood. One witness…saw about eight hoodie-clad men…pile out of a van and in mere moments flip a car on its side.

     The pranks against the German cars, first manufactured in the late 90s, will be investigated as felony vandalism. The fad began years ago in Amsterdam where Dutch delinquents deposited the vehicles into canals. The fad also has taken root in Canada….

David E. Early, "Smart Car Tipping Takes a Mysterious Turn in San Francisco," San Jose Mercury News, April 8, 2014