Police Perjurers: Throw Lying Cops Off the Force (Rall)

[struggle4progress]

<snip> The NYPD arrested 1,806 people during the RNC. "Of the 1,670 cases that have run their full coarse," The New York Times reported April 12, "ninety-one percent ended with the charges dismissed or a verdict of not guilty after trial."

Ninety-one percent!

Using a new tactic, protesters hired hundreds of anti-RNC cameramen to videotape their arrests. Their evidence proved that cops trumped up nearly every charge. Some of those arrested, it turns out, were passersby who didn't participate in the protests at all. The videos, reported the Times in its usual understated style, offered "little support or actually undercut the prosecution of most of the people arrested." After viewing the evidence, Manhattan's district attorney dropped the charges. <snip>

In an Orwellian twist, the authorities even censored their own tapes to delete evidence of police lies. Alexander Dunlop, charged with pushing his bicycle into a line of police officers and resisting arrest, was seen on a police tape before the incident in question and sitting in handcuffs after his arrest. The D.A.'s office erased "parts of the tape that show him calmly approaching the police line, and later submitting to arrest without apparent incident." <snip>

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=127&nci...

[bullimiami]

1. throw all the liars out. police, politicians, newspeople, executives.

i hate liars.

[Deep N RedLand]

2. Cops lie all the time.

Growing up a city with one of the most corrupt forces second only to LA, I've seen this first hand.
Granted most of the neighbor kids were not saints by any imagination, the police still embellished an issue into downright perjury and there was not a judge alive who would believe the defendant's testimony over the cops.

Since I once knew a cop who was anti-choice yet worked security at a woman's clinic (not to mention I've been in the opposite situation and had to act objective to the pro-life wacko groups) I do believe most cops try to be impartial in dealing with protest groups.

However don't forget a lot of law enforcement are traditional authoritarian and conservative and vote red (despite a lot being pro-union). In addition there is no denying a certain portion of police officers out there take the job for the power trip and just looking for reason to give a protester a good pepper-spraying or tazing, especially if they don't agree with them. It's either that or they beat on their wives to relieve the stress.

The county I live, an opinion about the local sheriff, especially his excessive weight, will risk him personally trying to harass you at home as was done in at least one case so far.

[struggle4progress]

5. Some lie all the time. I should add that one of my personal heros ...

... (for reasons completely unrelated to the job) was a policeman, and another of my heros (because of his full time post-retirement activities) was an ex-policeman. But it's my impression, based on some unpleasant police encounters, that the job can also attract a certain number of wackos.

[bemildred]

3. Throw them in jail. Firing is not enough. nt

[Vitruvius]

4. Absolutely. Innocents have gone to prison, innocents have been executed

because of police perjurers and misconduct by politically ambitious DAs. If this were a just society, such misconduct would be punished by prison. Or death, in jurisdictions where the death penalty exists for murder; executing the innocent is murder and should be punished as such.

But it will never happen. Because life is cheap in Bu$h's America. So cheap that even getting rid of the bad apples among the police or DAs (with no punishment) is too much to ask.

[indepat]

6. When police uphold police-state tactics rather than the law, we are in

big trouble.

[genieroze]

7. Then we are in big trouble.eom

[OldCurmudgeon]

8. one serious mistake

has been to get these charges dismissed before trial.

Yeah, it's much easier on the unjustly accused protestors to get the DA to throw out the charges.

But if you really, really want to nail the crooked cops (and whoever doctored that prosecution video tape), you have to get them to testify UNDER OATH....double and triple confirm that "yes, that's how it happened"...and THEN hit them with the video evidence that shows them as complete liars. That can only happen if the case goes to trial.

[genieroze]

9. The problem is that most people can't afford to defend themselves.

These cops throw all sorts of false of twisted allegations hoping one will stick or the defendant will take a plea bargain because the court appointed attorneys are just shills for the cops and courts. Personally I think if any allegations are proved to be false these police departments should be made to repay the defendant for a competent attorney. If people are innocent and are pretty sure they can prove it then they would be more likely to get a decent lawyer. A police force will many false allegations could bankrupt a police department.