10 famous whistleblowers in US history

Frank Serpico

Frank Serpico was the first police officer in history to openly testify about corruption in the New York Police Department. Serpico worked as a plainclothes detective throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, and, in 1967, he reported police corruption, including bribes and payoffs, to no avail. When his attempts to curb corruption internally failed, Serpico contributed to a 1970 New York Times story on systemic corruption within the NYPD which led to the formation of the Knapp Commission. In 1971, Serpico survived a shot in the face during an arrest in Brooklyn. While there was never a formal investigation, the murky circumstances around the shooting were suspicious, and some allege it was an attempt by his colleagues to get Serpico murdered.

Serpico retired from the NYPD in 1972 and continued to suffer pain and deafness from the shooting. The 1973 film based on his story, Serpico, features Al Pacino in the title role, and a 2017 documentary, Frank Serpico, features Serpico telling his story in his own words.