Posted on 08/12/2011 6:18:13 AM PDT by truthkeeper
Fullerton's acting police chief acknowledged Thursday that the department had allowed police officers involved in a deadly encounter with a homeless man to watch a video that captures the incident before writing their reports about it.
Acting Chief Kevin Hamilton said supervisors allowed the review so that the officers would have a chance to refresh their memory and write an accurate account of the incident involving Kelly Thomas.
But the practice is at odds with the way many other police departments deal with serious use-of-force cases. The LAPD's former inspector general, Jeffrey Eglash, said that allowing police to look at video before giving evidence is a "bad practice."
"You want each person's recollection. I would look at the videotape like another witness," he said. "It allows the officers to conform their statements to other evidence rather than getting their independent witness recollection. It is not a practice that advances the truth-seeking."
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
FYI. This article validates the statements made by the police informer on the radio a couple of weeks back
If it had been a black man that they beat to death there would have been days of rioting in the streets.
Makes sense to me, if you can get everyone on the same page singing the same tune it becomes nearly impossible to be caught in the lie.
this just keeps getting worse all the time, and I live in fullerton
Sounds to me like the “fix” is in on this. the Fullerton PD is rounding up the wagons.
This is equivelant to a “teacher” allowing “students” to take a final exam with an open text book in front of them. Is it any wonder that so many people don’t trust the integrity of LEOs?
Video is evidence. Reviewing it would be important.
No, it isn't. Filling out a report isn't a exam.
I have to agree with you for two reasons (so far):
(1) The public has been calling for the resignation of the police chief Michael Sellers, and two days ago he went out on disability. It's said he won't be coming back, and that will leave his $250,000+ pension untouched and collectable. My understanding is that he can't be fired while out on disability.
(2) The D.A.'s spokeswoman keeps telegraphing that if they don't bring these policemen up on charges, they will write a "complete and transparent report explaining why they came to that decision."
I expect a report and nothing more. If the family wants to pursue a remedy it will be through the civil lawsuit they will be initiating.
LEOs do not have any integrity to lose. And it is the result of conduct by cops themselves that has made this possible.
Is that all the CYA excuses and boilerplate for a bunch of badge heavy thugs with a license to kill??
And yes, this is different from a bank robbery... someone was killed in this event.
FWIW, the informer went further than what is stated in this article. He said the policemen involved were allowed to view the tape and write their report(s). Supervisors then reviewed the reports and returned it to them for several “rewrites” as they were unhappy with them. The informer also said the computer is hooked to some sort of mainframe (sorry if my terminology is bad, this is my understanding) and there will be a log of all these entries and re-entries.
“FYI. This article validates the statements made by the police informer on the radio a couple of weeks back”
What was that statement, (for those of us who missed it)?
This state is screwed up. In Alameda, they watch you drown and then get together to cover their Bidens afterwards. In LA, they beat you to death and then get together and....
I thought a police report was a legal document, admissible as evidence in court, from an officer of the court.
So, from now on, we can treat them as so much toilet paper, just a pack of self-serving lies, written by a slimy criminal? Cool.
The entire clip (I think around 30 minutes) has been posted on youtube. I will go and take a look there and post the url here so you can cut and paste it. Be back later.
Other than being promoted, nothing is going to happen to them.
I wonder if they also provided them an “outline” of what a “typical recollection” of those involved in a “similar situation” might look like — you know, just to make sure they don;t “forget” anything...
If the reports match the video, I have no problem with it.
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