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Brian Watson (left) and David Hansberry
Two former Detroit cops who were sentenced Wednesday to long prison terms for conspiring to steal from drug dealers are alleging that the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office misled the jury and are guilty of an "overzealous prosecution," WDIV reports.
In an exclusive interview with Local 4 Defender Kevin Dietz, David Hansberry and Brian Watson said prosecutors went too far to win a high-profile case. Hansberry was sentenced to 12 years and 11 months in prison and Watson got nine years in the case prosecuted in U.S. District Court.
"This was a case where the FBI and the United States attorney, along with the Detroit Police Department, set out to prove a narrative and to not actually get to the truth of what's going on," Hansberry tells WDIV. He accused the government of ignoring evidence the convicted cops said proves their innocence.
"How do you believe we'd commit this crime if in fact we went to Internal Affairs and told them?" Watson tells WDIV.
They allege that drug dealers and an admitted dirty cop, Arthur Lavells, lied about them to try to get lighter sentences for their own crimes.
Hansberry and Watson were found not guilty in nine of the 10 charges against them. They said the one charge they were convicted of is the result of questionable tactics by police and prosecutors.
