These videos tell the story of the LAPD âRampart Scandalâ which should be seen as a cautionary tale about the police. It was difficult to acquire these videos since they arenât available and a university professor happened to have them as part of his research.
I believe the lessons about dealing with the police are the following â feel free to add a few in the comments section:
1. Police will lie in court rooms and in fact it has been dubbed by Harvard Lawâs Alan Dershowitz âtestilyingâ since it has become so pervasive. In these videos, Rafael Perez is described by prosecutors as âthe best witness I(a prosecutor) ever had; he was an awesome witness.â
2. Police officers are just other witnesses in trials and shouldnât be treated as voices of authority or truth just because they are police officers.
3. Police will act as their own âgangâ to defend one another and make compromises of integrity for the team. Sometimes it is outright lying other times it is silence. The âcode of silenceâ is in effect in police departments across America.
4. To expect the police to discipline themselves is an empty hope â only strong civilian control as well as the Attorney General, U.S. Justice Department, and civil rights attorneys will keep them honest.
5. Prosecutors believe that âthe ends justifies the meansâ as well as a number of police officers â in fact, they believe it is legitimate police work. Many affluent Americans little imagine how their lives can be trashed by overzealous prosecutors as it happens to the poor and downtrodden.
As a victim of police misconduct, where the police suppressed an exculpatory witness, intimidated witnesses, falsified witness statements as well as conveniently lost the recording on my interrogation and lost witness statements, Iâm posting these videos again as a caveat for the public.
Happily, a great positive of Barack Obamaâs ascendency will be a Democratic Presidentâs tendency to choose judges whoâll be more favorable to the rights of the accused and civil rights suits to hold the police accountable.
(less info)
Gracias!
Sandrah
God Bless!
Josh Molina
Boston, MA