NEW YORK — Racial tension, unprecedented crime rates, and drug-related murders cast a dark shadow over New York City in the mid-1980s. Notorious drug dealers ran the streets and law enforcement was completely outmatched. Then, in 1988 an NYPD officer was assassinated by orders of a drug kingpin. The death of officer Edward Byrne rallied law enforcement to fight back in the war on drugs. But, as suspected crack dealers and drug offenders across the city were arrested in droves […]
