Posted on 08/24/2019 10:38:37 AM PDT by simpson96
Today in Hellworld, police are working backwards from witness statements to alter the photos of suspects so that they might be picked out of a lineup.
Police in Portland, Oregon — the whitest big city in the country, in a state that was founded with a constitution that made being black within its borders illegal — digitally altered the photo of a distinctly tattooed 50-year-old black man named Tyrone Allen, in order to try and implicate him in a bank robbery, according to Oregon Live.
The shocking move came after no bank tellers mentioned prominent tattoos in their description of the robber. Police reportedly altered his mugshot to remove his tattoos and then showed tellers a photo lineup, with some of the tellers then identifying him as the culprit.
“I basically painted over the tattoos,” police forensic criminalist Mark Weber testified. “Almost like applying electronic makeup."
Legal experts were a bit taken aback that police would do something that seems only likely to increase the likelihood of a wrongful conviction.
“It’s unbelievable to me that police would ignore the fact that no teller has described a person with glaring tattoos and make this man into a possible suspect by covering them up,” Temple law professor Jules Epstein told the paper. “They’re increasing the risk of mistaken identity.’’
Allen is currently in jail awaiting trial on three counts of robbery and one of attempted robbery. US District Court Judge Marco Hernandez is tasked with deciding whether the way in which he was arrested violated his rights and if the altered photos can be used as evidence.
(Excerpt) Read more at complex.com ...
Sounds like he covered the tattoos with makeup to hide them when he robbed the banks.
No. The police 'said' they were led to him by an informant. A long-time Houston cop was just charged with murder over falsified evidence used to obtain a no-knock warrant. He also 'said' that a confidential informant led him to the house. (See: Former HPD officer charged with murder in botched raid at Harding Street house)
They will probably get enough other evidence to arrange a plea or take to court.
Plea? For what? Please tell me you're not believing the police's story.
The robber doesn't even look like Allen. Their ears alone are completely different as are their noses.
Not to mention the fact that Allen's face is completely covered with tattoos and the robber's isn't.
Did he also change the shape of his nose and ears?
I posted the screen-grab from the video of the robber. Go compare that man to the Allen and then tell me they're the same guy.
If I were on this jury, just based upon the booking photo and the video, this guy walks.
Cops will use every trick in the book to get a conviction and the DAs play right along. They don't really care about finding the guilty party as much as 'solving' a case that leads to a conviction. Then, it's onto the next case and the next attempt at a conviction.
It happened to a friend of mine who was convicted of murdering his wife. After many appeals he was finally freed, mainly because all of the tainted (read: manufactured) evidence had been thrown out. No evidence = no case.
Cold Heart lacks critical thinking skills.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.