Friday, January 16, 2009

Oakland to fire 11 cops in search warrant case

Is it shocking to anyone that cops have been lying to obtain warrants? Especially in Oakland, California (site of the recent murder of unarmed and detained Oscar Grant at the hands of the police).

In this case, 2 sergeants and 9 officers are about to be terminated for lying to obtain search warrants. Is everyone clear what a lie is? It's when you tell something that isn't true. I only ask because the attorney for the cops apparently doesn't understand what the issue is here. Mary Sansen, the attorney for the officers, says they weren't trained on how to properly fill out an affidavit.

"The fact that I have anybody who's being terminated over this case is just simply outrageous," Sansen said. "Some of my officers have routinely been denied any form of training. I have clients who are writing search warrants who have never been to search-writing school, who have been expected to pick up as they go."

OK, I guess we're supposed to believe that training is the issue, it's not lying. When the cops told the judge that substances seized from suspects "had been identified by the Oakland police crime lab as narcotics", the judge gave them a warrant. But those statements were LIES. It doesn't matter if they didn't fill out the form correctly, what matters is that THEY WERE LYING. I don't care if they've never been to "seach-writing school", whatever the fuck that is, but I do care that THEY WERE DELIBERATELY LYING in order to get warrants that were not supported by the evidence.

Related Stories:
  • 98% of Emergency Room doctors believe they've treated patients who were victims of excessive force by police. Ninety-eight percent!?!?!!! That's a staggering number. 95% report treating injuries caused by fists and feet. "Unlike cases of suspected domestic violence, elderly abuse and child abuse, which doctors must report to authorities, physicians are not required to notify anyone of suspected excessive force by police." How convenient, one law for us, and no laws for them.
  • An Oakland man has stepped forward, saying that he is also a victim of police brutality at the hands of former-officer Johannes Mehserle. Mehserle was the pig who shot unarmed, defenseless, prostrate Oscar Grant in the back while another officer kneeled on his neck. Disturbing video of the execution can be seen here.

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