His Efforts to Expose NYPD Corruption Nearly Cost Frank Serpico His Life

The subject of a critically acclaimed film, NYPD Vice Officer Frank Serpico risked his life and became a target when he exposed widespread corruption within the NYPD

Depiction of Frank Serpico

Background

In the aftermath of a drug bust gone wrong, veteran NYPD cop Frank Serpico awoke on his back in a pool of blood.

He was alone in the apartment, aside from the elderly man sitting by his side, reassuring him in Hispanic-accented English.

Serpico had arrived with two colleagues. But, he later learned, both left the scene after he’d been shot. Neither called an ambulance or made a “10-13” (officer down) dispatch to police headquarters.