Law Enforcement: Federal Judge Slams NYPD for Widespread Lying in Drug Cases
The federal judge hearing a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the NYPD by two men who claim they were busted on bogus drug charges has blasted the department as plagued by "widespread falsification by arresting officers."
[inline:judgeweinstein.jpg align=right caption="Judge Weinstein"]The comments from Brooklyn Federal Judge Jack Weinstein came in his decision refusing to throw out the lawsuit by Maximo and Jose Colon, who claim that Queens narcs arrested them last year on false cocaine sales charges. A surveillance tape of the bust exonerated the brothers and led to the charges against them being dropped and the indictment of arresting Detectives Henry Tavarez and Stephen Anderson.
"Informal inquiry by [myself] and among the judges of this court, as well as knowledge of cases in other federal and state courts... has revealed anecdotal evidence of repeated, widespread falsification by arresting officers of the New York City Police Department," Weinstein wrote. "There is some evidence of an attitude among officers that is sufficiently widespread to constitute a custom or policy by the city approving illegal conduct."
Weinstein's attack came after he gave Afsaan Saleem, the attorney representing the city, a chance to document steps the department and prosecutors have taken to address false testimony -- often called "testilying" -- and fabrication of criminal charges by NYPD officers. Saleem couldn't come up with enough to satisfy the judge.
The Colon case is only the most recent of a number of scandals that have left the department's credibility tattered. This year alone, hundreds of drug cases have been dismissed because of corruption in the Brooklyn South narc squad, three officers have been arresting for covering up the sodomizing of a pot smoker in a Brooklyn subway station, and a Bronx detective was convicted of perjury.
As New York Civil Liberties Union president Donna Lieberman told the New York Daily News: "The NYPD has a serious credibility issue if federal judges are convinced the department puts officers on the stand who lie."
Comments
Cops lying? unbelievable (that a judge actually caught on)
One judge out of how many? So, we have ONE judge in America, that realizes that cops do lie, all the time. And, "proof beyond reasonable doubt", isn't "just cause the cop said so". Too little, too late. The courts in America, are the most corrupt, dysfunctional, dishonest, in the world. The phrase "innocent until PROVEN guilty, beyond reasonable doubt" is the biggest pile of crap I've ever heard. Anybody that's ever been in a court room knows, if your there, your automatically guilty, until you can PROVE beyond dubt, that your not. And judges don't care either way.
Just like Alcohol Prohibition...
Just like the 20s & 30s, when Prohibition of alcohol led to the most law enforcement agencies to be riddled with corruption, prohibition of Marijuana and other substances has left us with a 'law enforcement' system more concerned with 'success' as defined by arrests and convictions than actually doing their original, intended job of "Protect & Serve."
Unless we repeal prohibition, we are doomed to see more and more of this.
Career Move
I got poor grades in high school. I know, I'll enroll in crininal justice school at the local community college. It's not too dfficult to distort reality to get what I want.
It's taught
Of course cops lie. It's even taught in the police academy. I couldn't believe my ears when the instructor said words to the effect that sometimes you have to lie. After all, the crooks lie. Boy, was I naive, even at age 40 at the time.
Quid Pro Quo NY
One R. Giuliani is often credited with having built up this world-famous "crackdown on pot" New York police regime. Same R. Giuliani was the potuscandidate who got most donations from Big 2Wackgo in 2008.
Not quite ALL cops lie.
Of my 138 arrests, I can think of 4 who were truthful in arrest reports and testimony.
Democratic Candidate for US Senate, Wisconsin 2012
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