Serpico still speaks out against police corruption, brutality, the weakening of civil liberties, and corrupt practices in law enforcement, such as the alleged cover-ups following Abner Louima's torture in 1997 and Amadou Diallo's shooting in 1999.[15] He provides support to "individuals who seek truth and justice even in the face of great personal risk". He calls them "lamp lighters", a term he prefers to the more common "whistleblowers", which refers to alerting the public to danger,[16] just as Paul Revere was credited with doing during the American Revolutionary War.[citation needed]