When Police Are Wrong

Are police always right? Are police considered angels who help people to arrest criminals and help people to seek justice? Do we still always believe police can ensure law and order, maintain peace, safety and order in our community we live in? Can the police really prevent crime? Can they really protect us? Here are just two cases of different stories involving the police:

Police officers suspected of drug crimes
Issue date: 7/12/06 Source: Daily Vidette

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - Six law enforcement officers were indicted Tuesday on charges alleging they tipped off a suspected drug ring about police raids in exchange for drugs.

What began as a "social relationship" between the northern New Jersey officers and their young contemporaries soon spiraled out of control, authorities said.

"The targets lived a high-profile lifestyle: They drove luxury vehicles and they had boats, and they partied with the officers," said Passaic County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Jay McCann. "Then it cascaded from there."

The main drugs involved were the powerful painkiller OxyContin and the sleeping pill Ambien.

The officers were arrested within the past 18 months, but the case was made public on Tuesday with the indictments.

Each officer was suspended and faces arraignment in four to six weeks on charges including conspiracy to commit official misconduct; conspiracy to possess narcotics; official misconduct; witness tampering and hindering apprehension.

The indictment also names seven others who were targeted in the drug probe, which included dealing in cocaine, OxyContin and anabolic steroids.

McCann said the case came to light in August 2004 when it became apparent that the targets of an ongoing drug investigation by a county's task force had been tipped off about search and arrest warrants that were about to be executed.

"There were communications intercepted on the wiretaps among the targets of the narcotics investigation that made it clear that it had been compromised," he said.
"There was an intercept in which one person was making arrangements to get narcotics out of his house."

The officers charged were Pompton Lakes officers Dennis DePrima, 30, Robert J. Palianto, 29, and Michael Megna, 34; Ringwood Officer Paul Kleiber, 26; West Paterson Officer Richard Beagin, 26; and Passaic County Sheriff's Officer Gerry Ward, 46, whose current address is in Gastonia, N.C.

It could not immediately be determined if the officers had hired lawyers.

Man confessed to sex crimes he didn't commit
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Source: CBC News

Quebec City police say a man they arrested in 1995 spent five years in jail for crimes he did not commit.

Simon Marshall confessed to a series of sexual assaults but police now say DNA evidence proves he was innocent.

At the time, investigators with the then Ste-Foy police force thought they had the man responsible for more than 30 sexual assaults.

Marshall, who was dubbed the "Ste-Foy rapist," confessed and pleaded guilty. The man, who his lawyer says has "behavioural problems", was convicted and spent five years in jail.

Arrested again after release
In 2003, soon after his release, Marshall was arrested in relation to three more sexual assaults.

He again confessed, but DNA tests cleared him of the crimes. Quebec City police chief Daniel L'Anglais decided to use the same DNA evidence to review Marshall's 1995 conviction.

The Sûreté du Québec was called in to oversee the process in the interest of transparency.

The DNA evidence proved that Marshall had not committed the crimes in question.

"Today I announce that Mr. Marshall is not guilty of those crimes," L'Anglais told reporters Wednesday.

L'Anglais says he doesn't really know how Marshall came to be convicted in the first place. DNA evidence collected in 1995 was never tested.

L'Anglais says the police department is not solely responsible for the error. "We have prosecutors, we have attorneys, we have psychologists, but remember Mr. Marshall said: 'I am guilty.'"

Lawyer thought client was guilty
Even Marshall's lawyer believed his client was guilty. Jorge Amijo represented Marshall when he was sentenced, and says Marshall fit the description provided by the victims.

"It all matched. The height, the weight, the way he acted," Amijo says.

Quebec's Public Security ministry says it will review Marshall's case and take vigorous action if it finds the investigation was mishandled.

As for having Marshall officially and legally cleared of the crimes, that decision would have to be made by a judge.

These are just two cases where the police are not always right. Still recently, we heard of policemen assaulting tourists. Police are known to be righteous people who have the authority to arrest people who commit crimes. But in today's society, police are just earning a living. They are humans who have the genetic inheritance of our ancestors. They are imperfect humans too. Police may misuse their authority any time for their own advantage or other personal needs. They are known to err just like any other ordinary individual.

Since 1995, the Law Offices of Scott T. Kamin have helped people accused of crimes in courts from 2600 S. California to the Dirksen Federal Building, in matters ranging from murder to tiger killing. For Criminal Defense in Chicago call Scott T. Kamin @ Office: (312) 322-0077, Cell: (312) 307-8848, Pager: (312) 963-1487, E-mail: scotttkamin@aol.com If the Police Were Wrong, they sue the police for their brutality, they sue the police for your false arrest and your wrongful conviction.