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Trial by Fire in the NYPD (10 Photos)

Trial by Fire in the NYPD (10 Photos)

© Antonio Bolfo/Reportage by Getty Images.

Antonio Bolfo worked as a police officer in the NYPD from 2006 to 2008 where he patrolled some of the most dangerous housing projects in the Bronx. Bolfo says, “There was a substantial amount of depression in the unit and at the precinct in general, but no one would ever admit it out of fear it would be taken as a sign of weakness. People deal with depression in a number of ways, some take to alcohol, others to infidelity. For me it was photography that helped ease the burden.” Bolfo’s series, IMPACT: Life On The Housing Beat opens tomorrow, July 24, at the Half King gallery in NY. The photographer will participate in an opening night discussion with Ed Conlon, former NYPD detective and author of Blue Blood.

Operation IMPACT is an NYPD program that assigns young, untested officers to the most violent and dangerous neighborhoods of New York City for a full-scale plunge into “The Job.” Part field training, part trial by fire, IMPACT pits these officers against some of the most vicious criminals in the country on a daily basis. This photography project follows one IMPACT unit consisting of thirty rookies assigned to housing projects in the South Bronx, one of the poorest and toughest neighborhoods in America.

Many criminologists directly attribute Operation IMPACT to New York City’s 21st century revival. But the focus on arrests comes at a price: sacrificing community policing, which leads to a tense relationship between the neighborhood’s beleaguered residents and the overstrained cops.

Above: Officers Weadock, Olivero, and Suarino (left to right) helplessly listen to a colleague cry for help over the radio in the Mott Haven neighborhood of South Bronx. Because IMPACT cops patrol on foot and have no access to police vehicles, they are unable to respond to the officer in need of assistance.

-text courtesy Antonio Bolfo
© Antonio Bolfo/Reportage by Getty Images

An IMPACT cop descends into the bowels of the Mitchell Housing Projects in Mott Haven. The stairwells of the projects are a haven for criminal activity, including robberies, assaults, and drug deals. The passages are narrow and dark, allowing victims no warning before they are attacked.

 

© Antonio Bolfo/Reportage by Getty Images

Officer Alba, a veteran IMPACT cop, leads two brand-new officers through their first snow storm policing the projects. Although Alba was supposed to spend only six months in IMPACT, after a year and a half he received orders for another six-month tour. Budget cuts to the NYPD have resulted in IMPACT officers being recycled similarly for two, three, and four tours before they’re through.

© Antonio Bolfo/Reportage by Getty Images.

Officers Weadock and Olivero (left to right) spend their lunch break checking out the precinct gossip on Facebook in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx. Scandalous rumors run amuck in the precinct, and Facebook helps fan the fires.

 

© Antonio Bolfo/Reportage by Getty Images

In the stairwell of the Mitchell Housing Projects, Officer Pastula catches a fleeing suspect thought to be dealing drugs. With passages that are narrow and dark, the stairwells of the projects are a haven for robberies, assaults, and drug deals. For many IMPACT cops, arresting someone is a very new thing. The criminals are far more experienced in this dangerous game.

 

 

© Antonio Bolfo/Reportage by Getty Images

Officers Bianco and Lane (left to right) use a “10-62 Personal” break to  catch their breath from fighting crime. They’re sitting on the roof of a Milbrook housing project in the Mott Haven neighborhood of the South Bronx. Because civilians are not allowed on the roofs of housing projects, cops can lower their guard and relax.

 

© Antonio Bolfo/Reportage by Getty Images

Officers in the Mott Haven neighborhood of South Bronx update their memo books with the events that have unfolded throughout their tour to make certain that all three accounts match. The memo book is admissible evidence in court. What is written in it is considered an official record.

© Antonio Bolfo/Reportage by Getty Images

A Milbrook resident  shows off by doing flips in front of Officers Pettiway and Diaz (left to right) in the Mott Haven neighborhood located in South Bronx.

 

© Antonio Bolfo/Reportage by Getty Images

Residents of Mitchell Housing Projects flirt with Officer Devine in Mott Haven. Mott Haven is a low income residential neighborhood geographically located in the southwest Bronx between West 138th Street and East 149th Street. East 138th Street is the primary thoroughfare through Mott Haven.

 

 

 

© Antonio Bolfo/Reportage by Getty Images

Party goers, who only moments before called the police, shout at responding officers who attempt to restrain the man they accused of stealing handbags from their house party in Mott Haven.

 

 

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