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Ars Technica brings us an update to an earlier story in which a court case was thrown out when a police officer's body cam showed him planting drugs before 'finding' them immediately after. Now prosecutors in Maryland are reviewing other body-cam footage and have already thrown out 34 criminal cases with many more under review:
The Baltimore Police Department's body cams, like many across the nation, capture footage 30 seconds before an officer presses the record button. The footage was turned over to defense attorneys as part of a drug prosecution - and that's when the misdeed was uncovered.
[...] "We are dismissing those cases which relied exclusively on the credibility of these officers," Mosby told a news conference Friday. She said the dismissed cases, some of which have already been prosecuted, involved weapons and drugs.
Lesson learned cops - plant drugs, wait 30 seconds, then turn on the camera!
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 31 2017, @07:44PM (3 children)
It's great (and sadly a little surprising) that they're throwing out not only the cases where they have proof of an officer planting evidence, but also some other cases involving those officers' credibility. But justice won't really be served unless and until the crooked bastards are themselves tried and convicted.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 31 2017, @08:17PM
Indeed, planting evidence must be prosecuted.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 31 2017, @08:27PM
Oddly enough, shouldn't the cop be charged with drug possession on top of falsifying evidence?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 31 2017, @08:30PM
I think it is the inevitable backlash of corruption going too far. People will bend their morals for edge cases, but at some point it becomes too gross and consciences are reborn.