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From the New York Times:
The [Bronx] court sealed the case file, hiding from view a problem so old and persistent that the criminal justice system sometimes responds with little more than a shrug: false testimony by the police.
[...] "Behind closed doors, we call it testilying," a New York City police officer, Pedro Serrano, said in a recent interview, echoing a word that officers coined at least 25 years ago. "You take the truth and stretch it out a little bit."
[...] An investigation by The New York Times has found that on more than 25 occasions since January 2015, judges or prosecutors determined that a key aspect of a New York City police officer's testimony was probably untrue. The Times identified these cases — many of which are sealed — through interviews with lawyers, police officers and current and former judges.
In these cases, officers have lied about the whereabouts of guns, putting them in suspects' hands or waistbands when they were actually hidden out of sight. They have barged into apartments and conducted searches, only to testify otherwise later. Under oath, they have given firsthand accounts of crimes or arrests that they did not in fact witness. They have falsely claimed to have watched drug deals happen, only to later recant or be shown to have lied.
[...] Many police officials and experts express optimism that the prevalence of cameras will reduce police lying. As officers begin to accept that digital evidence of an encounter will emerge, lying will be perceived as too risky — or so the thinking goes. [...]
Yet interviews with officers suggest the prevalence of cameras alone won't end police lying. That's because even with cameras present, some officers still figure — with good reason — that a lie is unlikely to be exposed. Because plea deals are a typical outcome [...]
"There's no fear of being caught," said one Brooklyn officer who has been on the force for roughly a decade. "You're not going to go to trial and nobody is going to be cross-examined."
[...] Police lying raises the likelihood that the innocent end up in jail — and that as juries and judges come to regard the police as less credible, or as cases are dismissed when the lies are discovered, the guilty will go free. Police falsehoods also impede judges' efforts to enforce constitutional limits on police searches and seizures.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Sulla on Sunday March 25 2018, @02:04AM (3 children)
I was recently driving around with another AC at two in the morning smoking a cigar and listening to an audiobook. Evidently a cop pulled me over. Guy got flustered when he noticed it was a cigar and not pot and told me I was driving eratically, over the line on two occasions, and following a car too close but "gonna let me off with a warning". Was obviously bullshit because he did not even ask my passengar for his ID. I pulled over into the next parking lot I could and reviewed my dashcam, none of the three things he had said occured.
I don't care that I was pulled over but don't make shit up about it, just say you thought I was smokin pot and send me on my way.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Sunday March 25 2018, @08:09AM (2 children)
I've had similar issue but you sound like you are complaining that he did not ask your passenger for an ID, which he had no grounds for in the first place. It also sounds like you had a good case to ask for a supervisor/watch commander on scene and registered a complaint. He 'maybe' had the grounds to ask you for ID in the form of an operating permit for the privilege to drive on the roads. But following through on the complaint would have been more effort than you were willing to invest ??
I worked mid-shift at a large company and was pulled over while getting lunch at 02:15 two days running by the same fsck'n officer, so I do feel your pain. The second night I requested a supervisor call and complained. As a result I got a detention slip explaining my delay which was of no practical use but did record the officers failure to follow procedure and was surely added to his *permanent* record.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge
(Score: 1) by Sulla on Sunday March 25 2018, @10:08AM (1 child)
I have the event recorded in my dashcam (at least my lack of any wrongdoing while driving) and I intend to complain about the lack of a straightforward reason for pulling me over when I get the chance. It happened last weekend and I have been busy all week preparing for my third kids birth yesterday. I am uncertain which agency pulled me over but im sure I can tell from the dash. I was mostly annoyed at the lie not the fact I was pulled over, with the amount of smoke rolling out my windows and the amount of drug use in my area I feel he had reasonable suspicion.
Ceterum censeo Sinae esse delendam
(Score: 2) by archfeld on Monday March 26 2018, @04:48AM
Wish kid happy birthday from a total stranger, and follow through with the complaint. It may seem like it doesn't matter but it does in the long run, and citizen participation/input has a great effect on pay reviews and promotions.
For the NSA : Explosives, guns, assassination, conspiracy, primers, detonators, initiators, main charge, nuclear charge