"Why police are rarely indicted for misconduct"

[ColesCountyDem]

Why police are rarely indicted for misconduct



Grand jury decision in Ferguson illustrates the legal and social barriers to prosecuting officers

November 24, 2014 10:00PM ET

by Alex S. Vitale @avitale



On Monday evening, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Robert P. McCulloch announced that a grand jury decided not to indict Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Darren Wilson for the Aug. 9 shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. The announcement concluded a tumultuous summer of mass protests against police violence and racial discrimination. Although the decision will be a disappointment to many, those who follow prosecutions of police for use of excessive or unwarranted force say a decision not to indict Wilson is unsurprising.

There are major legal, institutional and social impediments to prosecuting police. Thousands of officers are involved in shootings every year, resulting in about 400 deaths annually. However, successful criminal prosecution of a police officer for killing someone in the line of duty, if no corruption is alleged, is extremely rare. Even when officers are convicted, the charges are often minimal. For example, Coleman Brackney, a Bella Vista, Oklahoma, police officer who was convicted of misdemeanor negligent homicide in 2010 after shooting an unarmed teen to death while in custody in his cruiser, went on to rejoin the police and was recently appointed chief of police in Sulphur Springs, Oklahoma.
Structural barriers

There are significant structural barriers to successful police indictment or prosecution. For one, investigations are usually conducted by a combination of police detectives and investigators from the prosecutors’ office. Prosecutors tend to take a greater role when there is a reason to believe that the shooting might not be justified. However, they must rely on the cooperation of the police to gather necessary evidence, including witness statements from the officer involved and other officers at the scene. In some cases they are the only living witnesses to the event.

The close collaboration between police and prosecutors, which is an asset in homicide investigations, becomes a hindrance in police shooting cases. In most cases, the prosecutors’ reliance on the cooperation of police creates a fundamental conflict of interest. As a result, prosecutors are often reluctant to aggressively pursue these cases....

More: http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/11/ferguson-police-misconductdarrenwilsongrandjury.html?utm_content=opinion&utm_campaign=ajam&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=SocialFlow

[NYC_SKP]

1. See also: The Nation: Why It’s Impossible to Indict a Cop

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025863753

[ColesCountyDem]

4. A very good article, as well.

I'd missed the post, so thanks for calling my attention to it.

[tridim]

2. Okay, the problem is obvious. Now we fix it.

Body cams for every police officer in the country. If you shoot someone without a cam you are automatically prosecuted.

[OKNancy]

3. bad fact checking.. Brackney was in Arkansas, not Oklahoma

Minor detail, but ....

[ColesCountyDem]

5. Kick! n/t