A cop, drug dealers and questions

GROSS

In the days following the arrest of a 10-year police officer for tipping off drug dealers, some common questions heard around town are: Why? What was his motive? Did he even do it?

Officer Brian Gross is, by all accounts, a well-respected and well-liked cop. He was a member of the highly trained elite Emergency Response Team, similar to SWAT, and a member of the Special Operations Section, which conducts in-depth drug investigations. He is often called upon to train rookie cops. He has a construction related business on the side and is known to have an unimpeachable work ethic. He is married with two children and they all live in a nice home in Brunswick. A storybook life.

So, why?

One thing everyone agrees on is the proof presented in the felony complaint filed by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman – based on an investigation by the State Police - is pretty weak. Gross set up a meeting with someone and that someone told investigators that Gross told him to tell someone else about the raid. That’s a he said/she said scenario with an extra “he” thrown in.

If Gross is innocent, I hope Schneiderman had something more than a text and a statement from a guy in the drug world before he brought charges. If Gross is guilty, I hope the same thing.

Before I get into the more common scuttlebutt themes of why Gross is in this most unenviable spot, remember that he is a 10-year veteran of a pretty busy department so he should know the ropes a little bit. Now, without further ado:

-He’s a fall guy for State Police investigators on the Community Narcotics Enforcement Team, who spent who knows how much time, energy and effort – not to mention money – to set up a raid of five houses only to come up empty. Gross reached out to someone for whatever reason and that someone reached out to someone else and no drugs were found. In the minds of some, 2 + 2 = 5 and he was arrested for tipping off the drug dealers.

-Gross knew the guy he texted from his time on the SOS and tried to set up a routine meeting and the guy is making the rest of it up to save his own ass. Drug dealers are not pillars of the community and I’m fairly certain it wouldn’t be the first time one told a lie, especially when you have the State Police and the AG offering you a deal.   

-On the flip side of that, Gross, through SOS or just by being a cop, could have become friendly with the guy he was texting and the guy who the guy ended up talking to and was doing them an ill-advised favor. Cops, by the nature of the job, spend half their time with people on the “good” side and half with those on the “bad.” Cops and criminals are people too so I’m sure some cops and criminals get along just fine. I’m fairly certain there is a line somewhere that shouldn’t be crossed, and if Gross did what he’s accused I’m even more certain that it constitutes crossing the line.

-Gross was getting paid off by the drug dealers. I guess it’s always a possibility. But people are finding it hard to believe he is even a little dirty, and it doesn’t get much dirtier than putting your colleagues’ lives at risk by tipping off drug dealers. The pay off, too, just can’t be worth it. Then again, greed is one of the seven deadlies.

-He’s on drugs. I find this one hard to believe too because if someone is using drugs to the point of putting everything at risk by tipping off a dealer then someone is going to know and it would have leaked out by now.

-A family member got jammed up somehow and if Gross didn’t help out the drug dealers then that family member was in danger. I’m not sure if I buy this one, but I guess it’s a possibility.

-Or, it could be a combination of any of the above or something completely different.

I guess we won’t know until the case works its way through the court system – if it even gets that far.