The crazy ex-NYPD cop who turned violent Jan. 6th has a cleaner record than many top detectives

This guy is a choir boy compared to detectives still on the force.

Thomas Webster, a retired NYPD officer, was found guilty yesterday of multiple charges including assault. Webster swung a Marine Corps flag pole at a Capitol officer on January 6th and a federal jury apparently did not buy his story that he was acting in self-defense.

I looked up his disciplinary record, expecting a string of lawsuits and civilian complaints. In fact, he has one CCRB complaint from 1996, in which he was accused of pushing and kicking a civilian alongside other officers, and no known lawsuits. He was active until 2011.

In contrast, Detective Mathew Reich has 100 complaints against him. 95 for Officer Gary Messina has 95. Henry Daverin has 65. 54 for Anthony Ronda and 50 for Eric Dym. There’s a detective nicknamed “Assman” on the force, due to his penchant for illegal cavity searches. Another called “Bullethead” has 79 complaints against him and has been sued 23 times.

As I reported for Bolts Magazine, the new “Neighborhood Safety Teams,” a priority for Mayor Eric Adams, are filled with cops who have bad records—even though Adams contends they’ll balance “safety with justice.”

According to a review of disciplinary records, a handful of “Safety team” officers I identified have been accused of strip searches, physical force, illegal stop and frisk, body cavity searches, which the NYPD strictly forbids, denying medical treatment.

Webster’s career with the NYPD appears unremarkable. We can let it sink in that a dude who travelled to D.C. January 6th to participate in the world’s least impressive coup, who went after Capitol officer with a metal flag pole, was an exemplary cop in comparison to some of the highest paid detectives currently on the force.