Regarding JW -
"W1 admitted he lied" as written by LE on the AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF AN ARREST WARRANT for Daron Dylon Wint -
I am curious to know if there are others here who have ever been personally aware of a crime (witnessed a crime, been a victim of crime, etc) and have obtained a copy of the police report describing the incident. I have had the opportunity to do this several times and was quite amazed at the inaccuracies stated by LEO in the police report. Even when being a victim of crime, LEO exaggerated the actions of the perpetrator. So, I not only *think* LE lie, I *know* LE lie. Unfortunate, but true.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/opinion/sunday/why-police-officers-lie-under-oath.html?_r=0
OPINION
WHY POLICE LIE UNDER OATH
Excerpt: …. Remarkably, New York City officers have been found to engage in patterns of deceit in cases involving charges as minor as trespass. In September it was reported that the Bronx district attorney’s office was so alarmed by police lying that it decided to stop prosecuting people who were stopped and arrested for trespassing at public housing projects, unless prosecutors first interviewed the arresting officer to ensure the arrest was actually warranted. Jeannette Rucker, the chief of arraignments for the Bronx district attorney, explained in a letter that it had become apparent that the police were arresting people even when there was convincing evidence that they were innocent. To justify the arrests, Ms. Rucker claimed, police officers provided false written statements, and in depositions, the arresting officers gave false testimony.......
Good post! It's not just the bad guys who lie, even under oath and again, for various reasons. I've always been a huge supporter of LE and it's disappointing when anyone you respect does something against the values automatically attributed to them.
When DH and I went to apply for the restraining order, we brought along pages of the house diary* notes, observations, pictures. We documented everything as it happened or as near to, to be as accurate as possible.
First thing my therapist told us was what words and terminology we should use. He had extensive dealings with the courts and mental health/criminal issues.
He thought he was helping us, but it made me extremely uncomfortable.
Then, we went to the courthouse to fill out the forms for the TRO, and were directed to an office that had a court officer whose duties are solely to help people write up the reports and fill out the forms for restraining orders. She didn't want to read or even see our true accounts, times, etc. She didn't want us to read anything to her. She had us tell her and she typed into the computer.
Just like when you are interviewed by any person in LE, you are at the mercy of 1) what they think they are hearing you say (innocently making mistakes), 2) what they are interpreting you saying (innocently, but humanly putting their own spin on it), 3) deliberately putting their own spin on it because they're "sure" you're not right, or 4) spinning it in your favor because they're "sure" they're helping you.
You are given the papers to read and sign as true. DH and I were reading it and looking at each other because some things were grossly exaggerated in our favor, but not really true. It made us extremely uncomfortable because not only were some of those things not true, it would be lying under oath. The office was very busy, she was very nice, but harried. We understood she was trying to help us, but there was no way we were going with what she wrote as our words. We crossed things out, corrected some statements and added what was important to us. She complied, but there was a little attitude. I had further edits after her edits and there it ended.
I know she was trying to help us, but greatgoshalmighty there was no way we were taking any chances by lying to the court. As it turned out, SIL's boyfriend came to the courthouse (one of our friends saw him walking back and forth in front of it, lol) but didn't come in so we won by default. It turns out he had warrants out for his arrest for *other issues* and would have been arrested on the spot. AFTER that case, we discovered we could have been researching his extensive criminal history that he swore he never had. She, the idiot SIL showed up with scientologist lawyer in tow, she kept prodding him to address the court, he did and OMG I LOVELOVELOVE THAT JUDGE!
She read him the riot act for daring to show up to represent and
address the court for someone (sil) not named anywhere in the court papers! She was awesome! His face was red and he looked ready to cry, boohoo.
BTW: I, like many people, lie every day of my life. I read recently that whenever someone asks How
you doin? (no cheesy eyebrows raised) and I say "Fine, thank you! How are you?". It's true, I say that no matter how I feel. I'm ashamed to admit that I lie.
