The Shooting Gallery: Police Violence MEGATHREAD

[CountDeMoney]

What's your point, dps?  People struck in head-on collisions and who susequently combust into flames don't always live.

[dps]

No point, just an update on the story.

[sbr]

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/10/16/report-finds-state-lab-withheld-breathalyzer-test-results/bEf90jmMO2iPJbSdPpnjuJ/amp.html

Report finds state lab withheld breathalyzer test results

By Aimee Ortiz and Maria Cramer Globe Staff
October 17, 2017

The head of a state crime lab office was fired Monday after investigators found that staff withheld exculpatory evidence from defense lawyers in thousands of drunken-driving cases since 2011, a disclosure that could threaten many convictions.

In a report released Monday, state public safety officials concluded that the Office of Alcohol Testing routinely withheld documents from defense lawyers in a lawsuit challenging the reliability of breathalyzer test results due to an "unwritten policy not to turn these documents over to any requester."

The documents included evidence that breath testing devices had failed to properly calibrate during the office's certification process, the report found.

"We conclude that OAT leadership made serious errors of judgment in its responses to court-ordered discovery, errors which were enabled by a longstanding and insular institutional culture that was reflexively guarded . . . and which was inattentive to the legal obligations borne by those whose work facilitates criminal prosecutions," the report found.

"These failures left prosecutors in the position of unwittingly representing to the court, and to defense counsel, that the Commonwealth had complied with its discovery obligations, when it fact it had not," the report concluded.

The investigation was conducted by the state's Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. The Office of Alcohol Testing is part of the State Police crime laboratory and oversees the breath testing program for the state. It had been led since December 2013 by Melissa O'Meara, who was fired and replaced by Curtis Wood, the undersecretary for forensic science and technology .

Daniel Bennett, the state's secretary of public safety, said he plans to hire a retired state judge "with experience presiding over criminal cases" to help the office handle court-ordered discovery.

The state launched its investigation in August amid allegations from defense lawyers that the office failed to turn over evidence that the machines may have provided hundreds of flawed results over a two-year period.

The lawyers, who represent 750 drunken-driving defendants in the lawsuit, said the state's findings would have sweeping consequences.

"This is going to impact every single breathalyzer test case," said Joseph Bernard, lead counsel in the case. "Every single breath test from 2011 to the present will be impacted by this."

The case is reminiscent of the actions of Annie Dookhan, a former state chemist who was convicted of tampering with evidence and fabricating results in drug cases, leading to the dismissal of more than 21,000 charges in 2016.

Bernard said the office was run with an "us versus them" mentality and said he believed the failure to turn over documents was intentional.

"It's disingenuous to say they made an unconscious mistake," he said. "When you're ordered to turn over all work sheets, and you don't send over 400 failed calibration work sheets, that's not legalese."

The lawyers received nearly 2,000 work sheets completed by state chemists who calibrated the machines. Nearly all showed the machines gave accurate readings. But the 400 tests without accompanying work sheets showed flawed results, according to the lawyers.

The state report determined that the alcohol testing office handles its own requests for discovery and has no written policies on discovery. Its responses to requests "appeared to have been designed to minimize disclosure."

"While nothing prevented OAT from seeking legal assistance . . . in practice OAT often sought to answer legal process without consultation with attorneys," investigators wrote.

O'Meara indicated "she had received no formal training in how to respond to discovery requests."

Bernard said the office had an almost "holier than thou" attitude that led them to "hide the ball when it should have been an open process, as it is in many other states."

"It's so unfair to the prosecutors, the judge, every citizen, not just those who went to jail or lost their license," he said. "Everybody who pays taxes deserves better."

Even before the investigation began, prosecutors had decided not to offer evidence collected by the breath test machines in trials or plea negotiations.

Thomas Workman, a lawyer for the drunk-driving defendants and a forensic scientist who discovered the withheld evidence, said the office's failings go beyond incompetence.

"This is pretty fundamental stuff and it just wasn't being done," he said.

The episode marks "another chapter in the [Annie] Dookhan legacy," Workman said. "I'm surprised that they haven't put crime-scene tape around the Office of Alcohol Testing."

Workman and Bernard said they are still waiting on evidence from the state.

"We were told that it's in the mail three weeks ago?" Workman said. "I don't know what's going on. Something is going on though, and it's not good."

[CountDeMoney]

The niggerhaters here will appreciate this news: "Cop Board Made Up Of Cops Acquit Cop For Not Doing Cop Stuff Correctly"

After all, if you can walk away from three broken vertebrae and a partially severed spinal cord, what's some paperwork.  Back to threatening the wife!

Freddie Gray case: Baltimore Police Lt. Brian Rice cleared of all administrative charges
Tim Prudente
The Failing Baltimore Sun
November 17, 2017


When the verdict of "not guilty" came, Baltimore Police Lt. Brian Rice shook hands with his attorney, hugged his parents and drove a mile to police headquarters to get his job back.

The lieutenant was reinstated Friday, shortly after his acquittal on administrative charges that he had neglected police procedures during the arrest of Freddie Gray. The verdict absolves Rice once and for all.

"He simply wants to go home, hug his kids, kiss his wife, have a good holiday and really, honestly, try to get on with his life," said his attorney, Michael Davey.

The ruling by a three-member panel of police officers comes more than two years after Gray was severely injured in the back of a police van. Rice supervised Gray's arrest and was cleared last year of criminal charges including manslaughter.

Rice, 44, showed no emotion as the chairman of the panel read the verdicts.

"Not guilty ... not guilty ... not guilty," repeated Maj. Melvin Powell of the Prince George's County Police Department.

Rice left immediately, without speaking publicly, from the University of Baltimore hall that served as his courtroom for four days. He plans to take one week off, then return to work, Davey said.

Rice had been accused of breaking police protocol during Gray's arrest. He had faced administrative charges including failing to secure Gray with a seat belt in the police van and neglecting critical radio broadcasts.

His acquittal comes one week after the van's driver, Officer Caesar Goodson Jr., was found not guilty of 21 administrative charges.

Baltimore police brought administrative charges against five of the six officers who were involved in Gray's arrest and transport in April 2015. Two officers, Edward Nero and Garrett Miller, accepted minor discipline and are back to work. Goodson, Rice and Sgt. Alicia White chose to fight their charges before a police trial board.

White's trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 5.

"These cases aren't changing," Davey said. "The evidence was the same in Officer Goodson's case. It's the same in Lieutenant Rice's case. It's going to be the same in Sergeant White's case."

Davey urged city officials to think twice about their case against White. "I would hope they take a look at what they have and reconsider moving forward," he said.

Baltimore Solicitor Andre Davis said the city will not drop its case against White.

"We have to see the process through," he said. "It may appear to be unwarranted or ill-advised, but we believe that the process is important. People need to see that the Police Department really is committed to the process."

Rice, a 20-year veteran of the force, maintained his innocence. He was the highest-ranking officer on duty when Gray was arrested on April 12, 2015. He placed the 25-year-old in the back of the police van handcuffed and shackled but not secured with a seat belt, prosecutors said.

After the van ride, Gray was found unconscious with broken vertebrae in his neck. He fell into a coma and died one week later.

The police trial board was tasked with deciding whether Rice acted with reason or neglect. Did he fail to read an email with the new seat-belt policy requiring all detainees be secured? Did he neglect to listen closely to his police radio? Did he fail to treat the van as a crime scene after Gray was hurt?

Duke presented those questions to the panel during the four-day trial. He urged the trial board to hold Rice accountable, calling him the "quarterback" on the Sunday morning of Gray's arrest.

The Baltimore Police Department turned to the Montgomery County Police Department to independently investigate the actions of those who arrested Gray. The investigation led to the administrative charges.

Davey, the defense attorney, argued that the investigation was superficial, saying only nine witnesses were interviewed in nine months. During trial, he sharply questioned Montgomery County Police Capt. Willie Parker-Loan, who conceded to facts that undermined his own conclusions.

A conviction on any of the charges would have sent Rice before Police Commissioner Kevin Davis for punishment, which could have included termination.

Davey sought to shift the blame from the officers to the Police Department, saying policies and equipment failed those who arrested Gray and were prosecuted after his death. He argued that the department failed to properly notify officers of a new policy requiring detainees be seat-belted in vans. The vans themselves, he argued, were dangerous.

"The Baltimore Police Department had some very inefficient policies and procedures in place," he said. "And they clearly had some inherently dangerous equipment."

Police Commissioner Kevin Davis declined to comment on the verdict Friday.

The administrative trials came more than a year after the officers were either acquitted of criminal charges in Gray's death or had their charges dropped by Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby.

Gray's death was a tragedy, Davey said, but not a crime. "No officers intended for Mr. Gray to be injured and pass away," he said. "It's a terrible tragedy and, honestly, that's all it is."

[jimmy olsen]

Whoops

[Berkut]

It is reassuring to find out that Grey deaths did not, apparently, involve any actions of any kind that could be considered to be an issue of any sort.

Sometimes people just tragically break their necks while in the custody of the police, and that isn't necessarily a crime.

[CountDeMoney]

Sometimes people just tragically break their necks while in the custody of the police, and that isn't necessarily a crime.

It's apparently no longer in the directives manual, either.

[jimmy olsen]

Lol, now that's cheeky! 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/28/jeff-sessions-failure-to-recall-gives-defense-lawyers-new-argument-in-police-shooting-case/?utm_term=.12d43d58166c

Earlier this month, when Attorney General Jeff Sessions changed his account of what he knew about the Trump campaign's interactions with Russia, he stressed that he had "always told the truth" as he remembered it at the time.

"I've answered every question to the best of my recollection," he testified in a closely watched congressional hearing.

Now, in an unrelated matter, a former North Charleston, S.C., police officer is hoping that Sessions's memory lapses will help him persuade a judge to show some leniency as he awaits sentencing for fatally shooting an unarmed black man.

Federal prosecutors say that Michael Slager lied repeatedly about why he fired eight rounds at Walter Scott's back in April 2015 and that he should be punished with an enhanced sentence for obstruction of justice.

Slager's defense attorneys disagree, and to bolster their argument, they're citing Sessions's appearance before the House Judiciary Committee on Nov. 14.

In a federal court filing last week, Slager's attorneys said the former officer had not, in fact, lied when he gave an ever-shifting account of the shooting during two years of investigations and court proceedings, at times contradicted by cellphone footage of the incident. Rather, they said, his memory had faltered under pressure.

"A Swiss cheese memory is a symptom of stress, not an indicator of lying," Slager's attorneys wrote, citing testimony from a medical expert.

To further illustrate the point, they quoted at length from Sessions's testimony.

In the November hearing, Sessions acknowledged for the first time that he remembered a meeting where a foreign policy adviser, George Papadopoulos, floated a possible meeting between then-candidate Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. He had previously said he didn't think anyone from the Trump campaign had had communications with Russians.

Sessions blamed those and other lapses on the chaos of the Trump campaign, saying "my story has never changed."

Slager's attorneys saw a direct parallel.

"Unlike Slager, who had been in what he perceived as a life and death struggle before he made his statements, Sessions had time to prepare for his Congressional testimony, yet still often got it wrong," they wrote in their filing.

"Why? According to Sessions, he was working in chaotic conditions created by the Trump campaign," they continued. "This was undoubtedly stressful, though not as stressful as having shot a man to death, or dealing with the aftermath of that, or facing the death penalty or life in prison. As Sessions made clear in his statement, a failure to recall, or an inaccurate recollection, does not a liar make."

The unorthodox argument is seemingly designed to put the Department of Justice lawyers handling the case in an awkward position. If they continue to insist that Slager is a liar, the defense's theory seems to go, then they're essentially calling their boss a liar, too.

"Like Sessions, Slager never lied or misled anyone," the defense attorneys' filing reads. "Like Sessions, he answered the questions that were asked. When he had his memory refreshed, he added the refreshed recollection to his testimony. When he failed to remember certain items, it can be attributed to the stress or chaos of the event during which the memory should have been formed."

Slager, 36, gunned down Scott, 50, in North Charleston after Scott fled a traffic stop for a broken brake light. Scott, who was unarmed, was running away when Slager fired on him. He died on the scene, struck by five of Slager's eight shots. Cellphone video captured the shooting, which became a rallying cry for police accountability advocates around the country.

After a mistrial on a murder charge, Slager pleaded guilty in May to a federal civil rights charge. Prosecutors said Scott posed no threat to Slager.

Sentencing is scheduled to take place next week. The Department of Justice asked the court last week to find the underlying offense to be second-degree murder and to sentence Slager to life in prison. Defense attorneys contend the offense should be voluntary manslaughter.

Prosecutors are seeking an enhancement on the sentence for obstruction of justice. They claim that Slager gave "false and misleading information to his supervisors and state investigators" and provided "misleading and inaccurate testimony under oath during proceedings in state and federal court."

Specifically, Slager told investigators that Scott had attacked him, stolen his Taser and was charging toward him when he opened fire. As the case progressed and footage of the incident showed otherwise, he changed his account, eventually saying stress had given him a "fuzzy" memory of the shooting.

"All of the defendant's false claims that Scott had acted aggressively towards him before the shooting were made in attempt to justify his unlawful shooting of the victim," prosecutors wrote in their filing. The filing also alleges that Slager moved his Taser to make it seem like Scott was the aggressor.

"For over two years, the defendant continuously lied about his conduct," the filing read, "propagating a false and evolving narrative that he was attacked by Walter Scott."

Slager's attorneys said that such a characterization was wrong. In addition to Sessions, they cited a forensic psychiatrist who testified that high levels of stress interfered with memory-building in both the short and long term.

"Apparently," defense attorneys wrote, "the DOJ classifies a lie as anything that is inconsistent with their version of the story."

[DGuller]

I'm glad he pled guilty, but rationally, I don't understand why he did that.  Cops all over the country get off with murder, and he himself already notched up one hung jury.  After another hung jury or two, he would've been off the hook.

[garbon]

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/363103-massachusetts-cop-fired-after-commenting-love-this-on-a-photo-of-car

Cop fired after commenting 'love this' on Charlottesville rally car attack photo

A Springfield, Mass. police officer has been fired after making inflammatory comments on Facebook in August about the fatal car attack at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., according to MassLive.

Conrad Lariviere reportedly wrote, "Hahahaha love this. Maybe people shouldn't block roadways," in a comment on an article about the car that struck a crowd of counter-protestors at the rally, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring others.

Lariviere apologized, but Springfield Police Commissioner John Barbieri said last Friday that he decided to fire Lariviere after an investigation, and said that Lariviere "discredited the department," according to MassLive. Thousands signed a petition calling for Lariviere's firing.

"It was determined that Officer Lariviere impaired the operation of the Springfield Police Department or its employees and discredited the department," Barbieri said.

Lariviere made other comments on the post after being called out for his initial remarks, saying that another commenter lives "in a fantasy land with the rest of America while I deal with the real danger."

The local police union representing Springfield's police department said in a statement that it is "disappointed" by the decision to terminate Lariviere's employment, arguing that he made the comments as a private citizen.

"His point was that such disorderly behavior has serious consequences, and both sides of the dispute bore responsible for the disruptions," the statement read.

[Valmy]

No Facebook, no twitter. You never know what stupid shit you might say in a weak moment.

[garbon]

I don't think he was having a weak moment.

[Malthus]

I don't think he was having a weak moment.

This - I can think of lots of embarrassing things I could admit to publicly in a moment of weakness: approval of Nazis murdering someone isn't among them, though! 

[Berkut]

I don't think he was having a weak moment.

This - I can think of lots of embarrassing things I could admit to publicly in a moment of weakness: approval of Nazis murdering someone isn't among them, though! 

Yeah, that's a pretty fucking low bar to hope that your officers can manage, isn't it?

Don't cheer on Nazi's murdering people? Seems like a reasonable request.

[DGuller]

The problem with social media is that everyone attacks you for the one post where you cheer on the murder, but no one gives you credit for all the posts where you don't cheer on murders.