Law and Order 2 - Page 227 - Politics and Economics

I may have missed but did they try for manslaughter also. Seems like they should have at least gotten that. Of course they should have gotten murder. If they didn't include manslaughter, why not?

03-18-2018 , 11:49 PM

#5652

goofyballer

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NYPD officers lying in court testimony is rampant and rarely punished: a long investigative report

An officer testifies that a woman dropped a laundry bag in front of them, outside her apartment, and he picked it up to move it and discovered it was QUITE HEAVY and made a THUD when dropped, causing him to INVESTIGATE and find a gun inside. Oh my, how fortuitous!

Quote:

But a hallway surveillance camera captured the true story: There’s no laundry bag or gun in sight as Officer Martinez and other investigators question the woman in the doorway and then stride into the apartment. Inside, they did find a gun, but little to link it to the woman, Kimberly Thomas. Still, had the camera not captured the hallway scene, Officer Martinez’s testimony might well have sent her to prison.

Quote:

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.

Because so many cases end in plea deals, there's rarely an opportunity for their lies to be challenged in court, and then even when they are...

Quote:

Officer Martinez remains in good standing at the 41st Precinct. Shortly after the case was dismissed, he was promoted to detective and given his gold shield.

03-18-2018 , 11:51 PM

#5653

Eeyorefora

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Melkerson

I may have missed but did they try for manslaughter also. Seems like they should have at least gotten that. Of course they should have gotten murder. If they didn't include manslaughter, why not?

Evidently not, jurors interviews indicate that first degree murder or innocent were the only options.

Which puzzled me as well.

I live in Oklahoma also,but in a different county.

I served on a jury years ago and it was a murder trial.

We weren't allowed to take notes, but we had options not specifically mentioned by the defence or prosecution, as in we could convict the guy of any thing from murder to manslaughter, to justified homicide.

But maybe the laws have changed.

03-19-2018 , 12:56 AM

#5654

Slighted

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Eeyorefora

entirely too likely in Oklahoma for this to happen. Rampant overcharging is the root cause. DA offices either trying to charge the most serious charge when they can't make it, or just incompetence(not knowing the ins and outs of the charges). added with the citizens belief that its almost always ok to shoot someone.

Also, in your case the prosecution or defense won the ability to include "lesser included crimes" sometimes the Judge will not allow lesser includeds if they feel the prosecution bit off more than they could chew, or if they dont believe the case warrants a lesser included instruction in the jury instructions, or if they simply didnt put on evidence to justify a different charge. The attorneys sometimes go line by line through the jury instructions to battle what should or should not be included outside the presence of the jury.

eta- im a criminal lawyer in oklahoma

03-20-2018 , 02:27 PM

#5655

Huehuecoyotl

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Police said the man they shot had a gun.... he didn't. Then they said he had a tool bar that he swung out in front of himself as he advanced on them.... he didn't. He had his cell phone in his hand.

Quote:

The 22-year-old black man shot by Sacramento Police in his own backyard Sunday night was carrying a cell phone, not a "tool bar," when confronted by officers, the department clarified late Monday.

Clark was shot in the backyard of the home he shared with his grandmother, grandfather and some siblings, his 25-year-old brother Stevante Clark said Monday. The police department said they were responding to a call of a person breaking car windows nearby.

Police said they believed Clark was armed with a gun, though no firearm was found at the scene. Police said instead Clark had a "toolbar," that he "extended in front of him" while advancing towards two officers.

A media release distributed Monday night said Clark had moved toward the officers with his arms extended, carrying an object they believed to be a firearm. The only item found near Clark's body was a cell phone.

http://amp.sacbee.com/news/local/cri...mpression=true

03-24-2018 , 06:21 PM

#5656

Huehuecoyotl

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A police officer got indicted for official oppression in DFW.

Quote:

Newson, who was 20 at the time, had just spent two days in the hospital after being treated for a stomach ailment and was waiting in the lobby for his mother to pick him up....

Romer, who was working private security for the hospital at the time, approached moments later and immediately confronted Newson, video shows.

"Hey get off the phone. Shut up. Get off the phone. Let's go," Romer is heard saying in the video.

The officer then places his hand on Newson's chest and pushes him backward, seeming to take offense when Newson called him "bro."

"Bro?" Romer asks before he punches Newson in the face, grabs him around the neck, and forces him to the ground.

Of course the department didn't do anything to the officer until he was indicted. Then they pulled him off the streets. The video is pretty bad. The officer come up to him, immediately pushes him in the chest and then punches him moments later

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Vi...owTwt_DFWBrand

Last edited by Huehuecoyotl; 03-24-2018 at 06:28 PM.

03-26-2018 , 06:58 PM

#5657

Huehuecoyotl

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A former cop details what will happen in Sacramento

Quote:

There is no doubt in my mind that the officers are going to be cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, and there is also no question in my mind that this shooting wasn’t necessary for the following reasons:

First, the officers never identified themselves as police officers, as noted above. Someone just barking out commands in the dark doesn’t cut it.

Second, it appears that Clark complied with the commands to show his hands, one of which was holding a cellphone. It’s a poor command under these circumstances, just as telling a suspect to take their hands out of their pockets. If they are holding something, the officer has to evaluate it in a second, and the officers are conditioned to expect empty hands, which is unrealistic.

Officers are trained to err on the side of their own safety, the so-called “First Rule of Law Enforcement,” which is to make sure that the officer goes home alive at the end of his shift.The call was for property damage, or at most, car burglary.

It’s a property crime; there is no reason to believe that the public would be in any danger if the suspect was not immediately taken into custody.So when Clark, complying with the commands to show his hands, turned, the one officer immediately yells gun three times and fires, without any other commands.

The way the investigation will go is that both officers will state that they thought the cellphone was a gun and were in fear of their lives. And the investigation will be closed as a justified shooting.

https://blog.simplejustice.us/2018/0...can-shoot-you/

04-23-2018 , 10:15 PM

#5658

Louis Cyphre

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Outrage growing over black woman's arrest in Alabama Waffle House by white police officers

http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/in...black_wom.html

04-24-2018 , 09:13 AM

#5659

EfromPegTown

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This escalated quickly, golf course calls the cops on 5 black women for golfing too slow.

https://www.apnews.com/amp/95e02521b...1470fd9b6fecbb

04-25-2018 , 07:02 PM

#5660

Huehuecoyotl

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Quote:

The interim Austin police chief has weighed in on a video that has gone viral that shows an Austin police officer punching a man during an arrest.

The video, which captures an incident that took place outside a convenience store Tuesday evening in downtown Austin, was viewed 1.5 million times as of Thursday night, with many of the viewers questioning the officers’ actions.

Chief Brian Manley says the viral cellphone video did not capture the fact that the detained man tried to walk away from officers and later broke free of the handcuffs. After that occurs, the bystander’s cellphone video shows officers striking the man’s arms, legs and head, which are not prohibited tactics as long as they are objectively reasonable, Manley said. He did not comment on whether the use of force in this case was considered reasonable because the incident is still being reviewed.

From the video the explaination looks like bullsh*t. There is a gap in the video but the cops lead the guy into a corner of the building away from everything and the next thing is they're all beating on him and he's the one who tried to run away and attack the officers? Come on.

Quote:

The chief said other issues emerging from the incident were concerning to him. The bystander’s video shows two officers wearing face covers and another one wearing a black Santa Claus hat with the word “naughty” written on it.

https://www.statesman.com/news/local...UXiZumoMnJvQN/

04-26-2018 , 09:03 AM

#5661

pvn

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Chicago Is Trying to Pay Down Its Debt by Impounding Innocent People’s Cars

http://reason.com/archives/2018/04/2...-cars-innocent

cliffnotes: lady drops her car off at a mechaninc, a couple of days later the cops call her and tell her it's been impounded, she owes $4400 due to a series of kafkaesque bureaucratic shenanigans.

04-26-2018 , 09:51 AM

#5662

microbet

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Philadephia went through that a few years ago and lost a lawsuit over it. The only cost there I find is agreeing to stop it as part of a settlement. DOJ was involved in that and Sessions is a hard core asset seizer, so justice (the concept) isn't getting any help from that direction.

04-26-2018 , 10:57 AM

#5663

heehaww

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Quote:

Originally Posted by pvn

http://reason.com/archives/2018/04/2...-cars-innocent.

Quote:

Because civil forfeiture operates under the legal fiction that it's an action against the property, not its owner, Byrd's case appeared on the docket as The People of the State of Illinois v. 1996 Cadillac Sedan.

(This quirk of American law has resulted in other notable cases such as United States v. Article Consisting of 50,000 Cardboard Boxes More or Less, Each Containing One Pair of Clacker Balls, ... and United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins.)

I would have guessed "Spongebob" looong before "real".

04-26-2018 , 01:36 PM

#5664

Slighted

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Quote:

Originally Posted by heehaww

I would have guessed "Spongebob" looong before "real".

had you never heard that? there is a decent john oliver on it if you want to google it.

a lot of times in state court it will be [name of district attorney] vs. 5000 dollars cash. and guess who you have to argue to in some jurisdictions? not a judge, the district attorney..

also there is ZERO due process required since it's not a person.

04-26-2018 , 07:53 PM

#5665

heehaww

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I knew there were cases against property, but I mean if someone without context were to reference, "United States v. Article Consisting of 50,000 Cardboard Boxes More or Less, Each Containing One Pair of Clacker Balls," yeah I'd probably guess some cartoons before guessing it was real life. Same goes with "arm the teachers!", had I been in a cave the past few months I would have thought that was in new South Park episode before thinking real life. America has become South Park.

The link itself is infuriating, but I at least got to laugh at those case titles. Lady gets her car stolen, the thief gets his case thrown out while the victim gets severely punished and basically robbed again by the city. Other lady gets her car vandalized and stolen, files a police report, but they tell her she's responsible because it's her car, and again she's the one who gets punished. I wonder if they would apply the same reasoning if some guy were to smash a cop car's windows and drive off with it.

05-08-2018 , 06:43 PM

#5666

pvn

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05-08-2018 , 07:17 PM

#5667

microbet

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Quote:

Originally Posted by pvn

http://orwell.ru/library/articles/el...nglish/e_eleph

05-08-2018 , 08:06 PM

#5668

heehaww

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JFC how big of a wuss do you have to be to fear an herbivore the size of a toy poodle? What does "lunged" mean when it's a fatass groundhog doing the lunging? As someone who observes groundhogs in my yard for half the year, I'm gonna say it means "waddled". If anything, the cop could have simply kicked the creature instead of shooting, but you know, that wouldn't follow the script of a South Park episode, and in 2018 just about everything in America has to.

05-08-2018 , 08:16 PM

#5669

iron81

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05-09-2018 , 09:27 AM

#5670

pvn

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05-17-2018 , 12:43 AM

#5671

Huehuecoyotl

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Body cameras help catch people who are lying about police abuse as well

https://www.theroot.com/south-caroli...lly-1826069258

05-17-2018 , 01:53 AM

#5672

Slighted

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Huehuecoyotl

Body cameras help catch people who are lying about police abuse as well

https://www.theroot.com/south-caroli...lly-1826069258

you would think police would want to wear them. its almost as if these types of events are so outweighed by police brutality/over-reach/corruption that they would rather not have the cameras at all.

05-17-2018 , 10:58 AM

#5673

Huehuecoyotl

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NYPD cops run a bicyclist off the road claiming that they were stopping him from cycling against traffic, they found bags of weed in his backpack, and that he was resisting arrest.

Surveillance video shows that he was cycling with traffic, he was never charged with possessing any weed, and complies with every request from the cops, even after, from his perspective, random men just ran over him and jumped out of their car to manhandle him.

Quote:

Why did they target Rodriguez in the first place? That’s not entirely clear. According to the Daily News, the NYPD said officers Zheng Zuopeng and Alan Chen were attempting to pull him over for biking the wrong way down a one-way street. However, the security footage shows Rodriguez biking with traffic when the officers drove into his path.

Police also said they found 12 bags of marijuana on Rodriguez after they stopped him. However, Rodriguez never faced any changes over the weed and was only charged with resisting arrest. Per the Daily News, the officers reported that he flailed around and refused to be handcuffed. Yet the footage shows him peacefully submitting to the cuffs. The charge was later dropped.

It’s not clear whether the officers actually hit Rodriguez with their car or just pulled close enough to run him off the bike. Either way, it was a potentially dangerous maneuver for what they allege was only minor traffic violation.

https://www.bicycling.com/news/a2071...list-off-bike/