“A Brooklyn man who claimed the police manufactured gun-possession charges against him had his case dismissed on Thursday, amid two investigations into the practices of a group of police officers in the 67th Precinct in East Flatbush,” nytimes.com reports. “The officers claimed that they got a tip from a confidential informer that Mr. Herring had a gun. Prosecutors had been instructed to bring the informer to court on Thursday; the defense had challenged whether that informer even existed. At the hearing, prosecutors offered no evidence or mention of that informer.” A red herring for Herring? Only it’s not so funny, especially when we learn that . . .
In researching the case, a lawyer for Mr. Herring, Debora Silberman of Brooklyn Defender Services, found others that mirrored it, involving the same group of police officers. In the other cases, defendants also said the guns were planted, with the police saying that officers saw the suspects storing the guns in plastic bags or handkerchiefs . . .
One man, Eugene Moore, could not afford bail. He spent a year in jail until a hearing in which a judge said he did not find the testimony from a detective, Gregory Jean-Baptiste, “to be credible” and dismissed and sealed the case. Another man, John Hooper, also spent almost a year in jail after his arrest. After a hearing in which a justice said he found it “incredible that they thought it was a gun,” speaking of the officers, prosecutors offered Mr. Hooper time served and he accepted.
Do I need to say it? I’m not against cops. I’m against bad cops. And cops that enable bad cops. (“Representatives for their unions said the officers had taken more than 300 guns off the streets.“) Does anyone seriously believe that the Brooklyn officers involved in all these cases were operating without the knowledge and approval of their superiors? Question: why aren’t the officers named in the Times’ report?
Equally, I oppose bad laws. Americans should be able to exercise their natural, civil and Constitutional right to keep and bear arms without infringement.
When the State of New York can incarcerate a citizen for carrying a gun – and nothing else – they’re pissing on the rights protected by the Constitution, to which the officers swear an oath. Is it any surprise that the agents in charge of enforcing those laws go rogue? Not to me it isn’t. You?
If this is true, these officers should spent 5x the amount of time behind bars as their victims.
BTW, I wonder if those 300 hundred guns that the union claims these officers got off the street were real guns or mythical guns or guns that were “already off the streets?”
“…or mythical guns or guns that were “already off the streets?””
A very good question!
Probably right back on the streets after the cops sold them on the black market
Not while they have a union.
As Lord Acton once stated, ““Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Usually whatever the police say in court goes. The truth is usually the first casualty as court is NOT about finding the truth but about finding a set of facts to justify the actions against the accused. It’s all about closing the case.
I have seen police officers commit perjury to convict someone of disorderly conduct. I have seen statements of charges fudged and written so as to create probable cause where none existed in order to justify the arrest. I have seen people receive probation before judgement ( a finding that lets the defendant perform a short period of probation usually along with some community service which results in a not guilty verdict) because they did not have an attorney.
In that case the judge actually stated, “…..if you had an attorney you probably would have done better”. This after the pro se defendant presented written contemporaneous evidence that he was in another state when the offense occurred. It’s a joke. As an aside, the defendant in that case contacted the arresting officer after the probation was finished and asked to meet him at a location to settle the matter. The officer was too cowardly to do so. Justice is found on the street. Oh, what I cite above was seen when I was a police officer.
There is a presumption of guilt due because one is accused. Add that with the tendency of the court to rubber stamp whatever law enforcement says and you have a problem. Anything said by the accused in his defense will be seen as self serving and dismissed. You will need at least two witnesses to counter one witness by the state. Good luck with the justice system. It serves the state. At least the accused in the article had a good lawyer.
UPDATE:
power corrupts; powerpoint corrupts absolutely.
Most of us think of IAD as the “rat squad” but their OTHER function, if you let them do it, is to ferret out power tripping assholes not just petty bribe takers.
Bribe takers are all good? Am I reading that right?
So the cops that investigate crimes by us mundane citizens are all heroes. But the cops who investigate the same sorts of crimes, and many that are far worse, by guys with badges are the “rat squad”.
Or is it because they’re cops investigating other cops? But you guys are all Americans investigating other Americans, so either all cops are the “rat squad”, or the cops who view IAD as the enemy are a bunch of hypocrites and criminals. I’m going with door number two, Alex.
I find it unlikely that these cops are risking their careers to plant evidence on some mope. It’s just not personal like that, and all it would take would be one of them to spill the beans. More likely they don’t want to burn their informant. Even assuming that’s the case, though, it is troubling that they would feel that it’s okay to use the word of the informant to arrest but not bother to bring him to court.
And I find it unlikely that these cops are not furthering their careers by planting evidence on some mopes. Maybe a mope like you, if you happen to be the wrong demographic in the wrong place at the wrong time. At one time almost everybody in the NYPD either carried or could quickly get a “gutter gun.”
It’s not personal. Evidence, including guns, is planted for a number of reasons.
1. They think you are guilty but they don’t have any proof of guilt, so it is manufactured.
2. They want leverage over you, so they plant evidence to gain that leverage.
3. They are assholes who like f@cking with people and push crap until the breaking point.
The saddest thing is they are often rewarded until they push too far.
There was one female officer in Utah who gave out the majority of Drunk Driving citations in the State. She got awards for Public Safety. The problem was in almost all the cases nobody had any alcohol at all. They were literally blowing 0.00 and getting DUI citations from her.
It wasn’t until she gave citations to powerful people that her stupidity stopped, and yes it ended her career.
I thought I heard she got busted for DUI herself, and that she apparently had quite the drinking history….
“It’s just not personal like that, and all it would take would be one of them to spill the beans. More likely they don’t want to burn their informant.”
With all due respect, my friend . . . Oh yeah? Then what about THIS? It sure as hell was personal to Frank Seprico. In fact, it still is. He’s pushing 80 and still hated by the NY cop establishment. Doesn’t look like to me much has changed in the way the NY cops do business.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/10/the-police-are-still-out-of-control-112160.html?ml=po_r#.VFKJBfl4pcQ
As I recall from reading about this ( or something similar – you can use your own google-fu to find it ) the “informants” were using the crime-stoppers hotline and garnering a $1000 reward for each conviction. If the cops made up an ‘informant’ or had one in on the scam, then the incentive is to split the reward for every ‘gun’ the got off the street.
More likely they don’t want to burn their informant.
Did you read this part:
“Justice Riviezzo warned that at the hearing in January, the prosecutors must produce the informant, “
The choice of “burning” the informant is not the officers’ choice when the judge orders the informant to be presented.
There’s this thing called the 6th Amendment, which I will excerpt:
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right … to be confronted with the witnesses against him … ”
–The Founding Fathers, 1791
I find it unlikely that these cops are risking their careers to plant evidence on some mope
LOL. Cops have been caught doing it before. Google is your friend. I’ll list a couple.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMA1Otuat2U
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/04/23/lawsuit-audio-depicts-another-police-conspiracy-to-plant-drug-evidence/
These guys were put in jail for a year without a trial and without credible evidence. I wish that amazed me. Just out of curiosity (since I have some plans in that regard), what would happen if the accused demands his trial NOW, when arrested, since he has the constitutional right to a SPEEDY trial, not a year in jail with no trial at all, nor any in sight.
I’m guessing that a year IS speedy in Brooklyn.
I’m guessing that SCOTUS would not agree.
I’m really surprised an ambulance chaser hasn’t smelled enough money to take their case yet. This sounds like a solid ‘due process’ lawsuit.
Raucous laughter and pointing. Then a trip to Riker’s.
Maybe a light beating, depending how old-school the cops are.
They are guaranteed a trial within 30 days. The problem is that the defense often waives this right, and by often I mean the vast majority of the time.
Once waived, it’s not as if you have to continue to waive it every 30 days. It’s waived period.
Since poor people can’t afford representation, and the Public Defenders are overwhelmed, the Public Defenders asked for it to be waived so they have time to prepare, plus the DA is talking about more jail time if it isn’t waived, so people get into horrible situations such as where they have committed no crime and are in jail for a year.
Even as a management problem this seems dumb; wouldn’t it cost less to hire more public defenders than to keep someone in jail for a year? And wouldn’t the city be liable for under-funding the public defenders office this badly? On simple financial grounds this seems like a foolish economy. And then there is the more abstract issue of morality; how can you do this in good conscience? Do you just want them off the street?
You had me until you mentioned morality and conscience. We’re talking about government here.
Perhaps it would be a bit different if the defendant was legally owed wage compensation if he or she is acquitted. Plus 3% matching in a 401k.
When there’s no cost attached, people get careless. Put a pricetag on it, and stuff gets real.
Frankly, in all criminal cases, the state should fully compensate all losses of the defendant, from legal costs to lost wages and other income. It’s the least that can be done to alleviate the injustice.
This story is really atrocious and the idiots of NY don’t understand that it makes no financial sense to house these waiting-for-trial un-convicted people in prison for seemingly years.
This is what you get with an all-powerful government and ain’t it interesting that this violation of rights is in the home base of the marxist Left.
Say it aint so.
Crooked cops in Brooklyn.
Nahhhhhhh cant be. Its a myth.
Just like the Mafia, and Fight Club.
Don’t talk about it.
What about the constitutional right to a speedy trial? If someone is carrying concealed without a permit, or has a gun they are prohibited from having, then arrest them and try them. But to hold them on thin evidence for a year is medieval.
Right, and the article mentions that the guys that were held in prison for nearly a year were released after the HEARING, it does not appear that they went to trial.
Things must have gotten pretty tough after no longer being able to “stop and frisk” (ie deny you your Constitutional rights with no evidence of wrongdoing).
The informer does exist… his name is Fuzzy Dunlop.
Because only cops are responsible enough to be trusted with guns.
The sad part is there will be no investigation of what the judge characterized as not “credible.”
And lets assume it was a real informant that passed on real information and it was found but the judge just didn’t see it the same way, and lets assume that there will be an investigation. The public will have no transparency into the investigation that clears this group of police, thus perpetuating the worst views about law enforcement hurting all officers.
Police need legitimacy that comes with confidence to be effective and like it or not each one of these incidences that the public perceives as unjust chips away at that. So sad when good people are tainted by the worst examples of people who are in their group or associated with them.
It seems to me the that the police themselves are the source of the lack of credibility. They know the rules, or should (ignorance of the law is no excuse). When you are given power over others, you need to play it cleaner and more upright, or risk the loss of credibility. Any way you look at it, they created their own problem.
Cops plant evidence to advance their careers or for reasons of personal animus. The more arrests, the more promotions, overtime and respect. This is nothing new.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/13/ex-nypd-cop-we-planted-ev_n_1009754.html
http://www.kltv.com/story/24563430/former-e-texas-police-captain-sentenced-for-planting-evidence
http://www.tokeofthetown.com/2014/04/two_former_la_cops_charged_with_planting_evidence.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/02/nyregion/brooklyn-detective-convicted-of-planting-drugs-on-innocent-people.html
http://jonathanturley.org/2009/03/08/three-atlanta-police-officers-sentenced-for-planting-evidence-and-killing-a-92-year-old-grandmother-in-botched-raid/
And on and on and on. They usually plant drugs, but the recent emphasis on taking guns off the streets in NYC changed their focus. The cops get more cred for planting a gun than they would from planting a bag of weed.
There are thousands of people in jail based on evidence planted by cops. Thousands. And any one of us might be next.
Once again, sing along….the only difference between Cops and bangers is the Cops get to have those neat-o shiny badges. Sometimes it is good to have a Cop handy, but mostly they cannot be trusted…and should be handled with extreme caution (including servile compliance with anything they say). The life you save may be your own.
BTW, under no circumstances should police, of any sort, be casually targeted for assualt, injury or harm. Their bad behavior justifies no one to do the same. (unless, they are shooting at you, first)
I think the English language is being assaulted by the assualt
Where is the right to face your accuser? Something seems horribly wrong when the cops can bust you because of a mysterious unnamed informer who they never even have to prove exists.
So WTF…… some informer says you have a gun in your house and the police are allowed to just show up at your house and ransack it? Tell me that is not the case.
Somewhere, this generation’s Gerry Spence is licking his chops and singing “Title 1983, Oh How I Love Thee.”
Well this is well-known behavior in She-ca-go. “The scum is guilty of sump’in”. Personally I can’t believe they got away with “stop and frisk” for so long…they should do time in the general population.
I have no doubt that every single officer at this precinct was aware of this ongoing activity by these thugs and
DID NOTHING. That makes ALL OF THEM bad cops. I’ve stated this over and over and over…..there are
NO GOOD COPS. They don’t exist. They are a figment of peoples imagination. If good cops existed they would
arrest and testify against the criminals pinned to badges that commit these crimes. THAT NEVER HAPPENS
because there are only two kinds of cops. The bad ones that commit crimes and the bad ones that see their
associates commit crimes, look the other way and commit the crime of ‘accessory after the fact’.
“One man, Eugene Moore, could not afford bail. He spent a year in jail until a hearing in which a judge said he did not find the testimony from a detective, Gregory Jean-Baptiste, “to be credible” and dismissed AND SEALED THE CASE.”
What does that tell you?
It is EVERY American citizens responsibility to support and defend the Constitution, not just those who have taken the oath.
The problem is that most Americans do precious little if it isn’t affecting them.
NY, NJ and a few others are blatantly violating the constitution.
That makes NY, NJ and others Enemies of the Constitution.
Glock and others are selling firearms to these enemies and American citizens continue to purchase from Glock and others.
If your really so pissed, stop buying firearms from companies that sell to the enemy!
Its time to put up or shut up folks, the problem isn’t going to go away if all you do is bit#$, whine, and blog about it.
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