Working on this new server in php7...
imc indymedia

Los Angeles Indymedia : Activist News

white themeblack themered themetheme help
About Us Contact Us Calendar Publish RSS
Features
latest news
best of news
syndication
commentary


KILLRADIO

VozMob

ABCF LA

A-Infos Radio

Indymedia On Air

Dope-X-Resistance-LA List

LAAMN List




IMC Network:

Original Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: ambazonia canarias estrecho / madiaq kenya nigeria south africa canada: hamilton london, ontario maritimes montreal ontario ottawa quebec thunder bay vancouver victoria windsor winnipeg east asia: burma jakarta japan korea manila qc europe: abruzzo alacant andorra antwerpen armenia athens austria barcelona belarus belgium belgrade bristol brussels bulgaria calabria croatia cyprus emilia-romagna estrecho / madiaq euskal herria galiza germany grenoble hungary ireland istanbul italy la plana liege liguria lille linksunten lombardia london madrid malta marseille nantes napoli netherlands nice northern england norway oost-vlaanderen paris/Île-de-france patras piemonte poland portugal roma romania russia saint-petersburg scotland sverige switzerland thessaloniki torun toscana toulouse ukraine united kingdom valencia latin america: argentina bolivia chiapas chile chile sur cmi brasil colombia ecuador mexico peru puerto rico qollasuyu rosario santiago tijuana uruguay valparaiso venezuela venezuela oceania: adelaide aotearoa brisbane burma darwin jakarta manila melbourne perth qc sydney south asia: india mumbai united states: arizona arkansas asheville atlanta austin baltimore big muddy binghamton boston buffalo charlottesville chicago cleveland colorado columbus dc hawaii houston hudson mohawk kansas city la madison maine miami michigan milwaukee minneapolis/st. paul new hampshire new jersey new mexico new orleans north carolina north texas nyc oklahoma philadelphia pittsburgh portland richmond rochester rogue valley saint louis san diego san francisco san francisco bay area santa barbara santa cruz, ca sarasota seattle tampa bay tennessee urbana-champaign vermont western mass worcester west asia: armenia beirut israel palestine process: fbi/legal updates mailing lists process & imc docs tech volunteer projects: print radio satellite tv video regions: oceania united states topics: biotech

Surviving Cities

www.indymedia.org africa: canada: quebec east asia: japan europe: athens barcelona belgium bristol brussels cyprus germany grenoble ireland istanbul lille linksunten nantes netherlands norway portugal united kingdom latin america: argentina cmi brasil rosario oceania: aotearoa united states: austin big muddy binghamton boston chicago columbus la michigan nyc portland rochester saint louis san diego san francisco bay area santa cruz, ca tennessee urbana-champaign worcester west asia: palestine process: fbi/legal updates process & imc docs projects: radio satellite tv
printable version - js reader version - view hidden posts - tags and related articles

Police problem officers

by fbi idVer:197f1e9948285821a288a4f5f5b4f1d82fe Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017 at 7:13 PM

Many California counties already give prosecutors at least some information on problem officers, as do a majority of the 50 states. But “Blue” California remains the only state that blocks prosecutors from seeing entire police personnel files. And that’s a disgrace.

https://www.laprogressive.com/blair-list/

Something Really Rotten in LA County

By Peter Laarman

Secret List of Problem Deputies Thwarts Constitutional Justice

Fifty-four years ago the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that prosecutors must make defendants aware of all evidence that might be favorable to their cases, including information that could undermine the credibility of the government witnesses who, for the most part, are police officers.

That constitutional principle is massively violated in LA County, thanks to the way prosecutors here are barred from accessing the personnel records of the Sheriff Department’s 9,400 sworn officers—mostly sheriff’s deputies but also higher-ranking personnel.

As the Los Angeles Times reported last week, for the past few years both interim Sheriff John Scott and now elected Sheriff Jim McDonnell have maintained a closely-guarded list of about 300 problem officers whose various misconduct issues should clearly be shared with prosecutors. The Times got hold of the 2014 list and found abuses ranging from crudely falsifying evidence, to sexual assault, to revealing to suspect’s girlfriend that the suspect (a drug dealer) was under surveillance, to a horrific case in Lancaster in which an officer brutally pepper-sprayed an elderly Black man in the face and then falsified his report so as to justify arresting the man, who rapidly declined and died following this trauma.

Two-thirds of the officers named on 2014’s secret list are still with the Department, including a significant number who have been convicted of crimes.

Two-thirds of the officers named on 2014’s secret list are still with the Department, including a significant number who have been convicted of crimes. Several have been promoted. The sexual assailant and the deputy who falsified evidence (using taco sauce to fake blood, lol) are still with the Department and currently earn 0,000 per year and 5,000 per year respectively.

The most common finding against the officers on the secret list (accounting for 69%) is dishonesty. Considering the context in which officers may be called to give evidence, demonstrated police dishonesty is hardly a small matter. And lest anyone think blocking prosecutor access to the files of these miscreants is a small problem overall, the Times report notes the secret list includes deputies who were and are potential witnesses in some 62,000 felony cases from 2000 forward.

Because Sheriff McDonnell wants to clean up this mess by granting prosecutors full access to the officers’ files, and because the powerful deputies’ union (ALADS) is fighting him every step of the way, the issue will be decided by the California Supreme Court next year. Meanwhile, District Attorney Jackie Lacey is taking no position. She told the Times that she’s in a “tough spot” because her own office employs more than 200 investigators who are represented by the same union (ALADS). Our district attorney is no profile in courage; she needs to step up or step down.

Many California counties already give prosecutors at least some information on problem officers, as do a majority of the 50 states. But “Blue” California remains the only state that blocks prosecutors from seeing entire police personnel files. And that’s a disgrace.

The reason for the disgrace, obviously, is the undoubted power of the law enforcement unions in our state.

I should make it clear that I am a strong union supporter who worked for almost two decades at senior levels in two major national unions prior to starting a second career in ordained ministry at age 44. But when it comes to this issue, I call on everyone, including my labor movement friends, to demand major change in state laws that effectively shield police misconduct and that thereby deeply corrupt the administration of justice.

Why should anyone rot in prison or jail whose trial was corrupted by the testimony of a bad cop or whose defense was hampered by suppressed information?

Now that we know just how bad it is, everyone in this county who cares about fairness–including our Supervisors and our DA—needs to step up and speak out, even if it means putting their union campaign contributions at risk.

Strong unions, yes. But not at the price of making justice weak.

Peter Laarman

Posted on December 11, 2017

DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the LA Progressive, its publisher, editor or any of its other contributors.

About Peter Laarman

Rev. Peter Laarman is volunteer project coordinator for Justice Not Jails. He formerly directed Progressive Christians Uniting, the LA-based network of activist individuals and congregations that first launched Justice Not Jails in 2012 as a multifaith initiative. He served as the senior minister of New York’s Judson Memorial Church from 1994 to 2004. Ordained in the United Church of Christ, Peter spent 15 years as a labor movement strategist and communications specialist prior to training for ministry.
Report this post as:

© 2000-2018 Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by the Los Angeles Independent Media Center. Running sf-active v0.9.4 Disclaimer | Privacy