Crooked Cops Further Worry Bostonians

Cops are pigs.

"This is a bump in the road," Menino said in a telephone interview. "These three individuals are not going to ruin the work of thousands of officers in our city."

That was not the attitude in Jamaica Plain, where Officers Roberto Pulido, the alleged ringleader, and Nelson Carrasquillo, his alleged underling, had patrolled.

"Not good, not good at all for the young kids," said Jose Tejada, 53, who has lived in Jamaica Plain for 28 years. "This really sends the wrong message, and for the kids around here, they'll probably see this as another reason not to trust police, whether they're Latino or not."

Jessica Benjamin, 16, who was leaving her job at a shoe store in Dudley Square, said the image of the police seemed to have hit a new low.

"I never trusted them, and this shows they're just like regular people," she said. "Behind closed doors, some of them do the same things as the people they arrest."