Editing Serpico (section)

== Plot ==
[[NYPD]] Detective [[Frank Serpico]] is rushed to the hospital, having been shot in the face. Police Chief Sidney Green fears that Serpico was shot by another cop. So Serpico's story is shown in a [[Flashback (narrative)|flashback]].

Serpico graduates from the police academy with big ideas for improving the police force's community relations. He dresses like an actual civilian instead of wearing the department's standard plainclothes dress, which is easily recognizable. While he is chasing a burglar, other officers fail to recognize him as one of their own and shoot at him. He realizes that deviating from protocols can be dangerous.

Serpico reports an attempted bribe to a high-ranking investigator, who chuckles and advises him to keep the money. Serpico soon learns that corruption is rampant in the department. Forced to accompany officers as they collect payoffs from criminals and small businesses, Serpico refuses to accept his share of the money. He makes several attempts to alert superiors to the corruption but is rebuffed every time. Other officers learn that he is reporting them, and he begins to fear for his life.

Serpico and his well-connected friend Blair go to the mayor's assistant, who promises a real investigation and support but is stymied by political pressure. Ostracized, frustrated and fearful, Serpico sinks into depression, which ruins his relationship with his girlfriend. He begins brutalizing well-connected suspects who had been bribing other officers and thought themselves protected. Finally, Serpico informs his captain that he has reported his experiences to oversight agencies outside the police force. Furious, the captain tells the other officers.

Blair uses his connections to arrange a personal interview with the [[district attorney]], who tells Serpico that if he testifies to a grand jury, a major investigation will follow. The DA limits his questions and prevents Serpico from revealing the ubiquity of corruption in the police force. Serpico and Blair take their story to ''[[The New York Times]]''. After his allegations are printed, his superiors retaliate by assigning him to a dangerous narcotics squad in [[Brooklyn]].

During a raid on a drug trafficker's apartment, Serpico's partners hold back at a critical moment, and Serpico gets shot in the face. After a long, painful recovery, he testifies before the [[Knapp Commission]], a governmental inquiry into NYPD corruption.

Serpico resigned from the NYPD on June 15, 1972, was awarded the [[New York City Police Department Medal of Honor|NYPD Medal of Honor]] for "conspicuous bravery in action", and moved to Switzerland.