The code of silence is unwritten, of course, and a violation of CPD policy. It corrodes public trust, because police officers should not be above the law. Yet the report from Justice's civil rights division alleges that the code is pervasive and meant to intimidate officers into collusion as much as protect them from punishment. "If someone comes forward as a whistleblower in the department, they are dead on the street," a CPD sergeant told federal investigators. That's culture eating strategy for breakfast right there.