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Suspected criminals have gone uncharged in Detroit in some instances where the cops in the case had a history of lying, Ross Jones of WXYZ reports.
Jones reports on the critical issue in wake of a directive Police Chief James Craig issued in October telling officers that if they lie, they’ll be terminated. Court rules require that any information that can be used to impeach a witness’s credibility—including past lies—need to be disclosed to opposing attorneys.
“If cases are being dismissed because of a history—even if it’s one lie—a history of sustained misconduct,” Craig said, “Then how can we continue to allow that officer to function in the capacity of a police officer?”
Since 2015, internal affairs probes found that at least 10 Detroit police officers made false statements on the job. In one case, officer Walied Kamel lied about roughing up a citizen, telling internal affairs he didn’t use force. An investigation found that she actually did.
Jones reports:
Last year, DPD helped build a weapons case against a known violent gang member. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was ready to bring charges, Craig said, until they found out that the officer involved in his arrest had a history of giving false statements.
“Because of his history of a false statement, that person couldn’t testify,” Craig said.
The case was dropped and the man went uncharged. Because he didn’t face a formal charge, Detroit police refused to release his name.
