OT Inside a secret 2014 list of hundreds of L.A. deputies with histories of misconduct

[SlyPokerDog]

It was a critical piece of evidence: an inmate’s shirt, bloodied from a jailhouse brawl.

When it went missing, Deputy Jose Ovalle had an idea.

He picked out a similar shirt, doused it with taco sauce and snapped a photograph, which was booked into evidence with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, law enforcement records show.

When confronted later, the deputy admitted to faking the blood.

Ovalle kept his job, but his name was placed on a secret Sheriff’s Department list that now includes about 300 deputies with histories of dishonesty and similar misconduct, a Los Angeles Times investigation has found. The list is so tightly controlled that it can be seen by only a handful of high-ranking sheriff’s officials. Not even prosecutors can access it.

Amid growing public scrutiny over police misconduct, Sheriff Jim McDonnell wants to give the names on the list to prosecutors, who are required by law to tell criminal defendants about evidence that would damage the credibility of an officer called as a witness. But McDonnell’s efforts have ignited a fierce legal battle with the union that represents rank-and-file deputies.

The dispute, which the California Supreme Court is expected to decide next year, is playing out in a state with some of the nation’s strictest secrecy laws on police misconduct. California is among 22 states that keep officer discipline from the public, but it is the only one that blocks prosecutors from seeing entire police personnel files.

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-sheriff-brady-list-20171208-htmlstory.html

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Law enforcement and court records show:

One deputy on the list endangered the lives of fellow officers and an undercover informant when he warned a suspected drug dealer’s girlfriend that the dealer was being watched by police.

Another pepper-sprayed an elderly man in the face and then wrote a false report to justify arresting him.

A third pulled over a stranger and received oral sex from her in his patrol car.

The list also includes several deputies still with the department who were convicted of crimes — one for filing a false arrest report and another who was charged with domestic battery but pleaded no contest to a lesser offense. In other cases, prosecutors sharply criticized the deputies’ actions but declined to pursue criminal charges against them.


http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-sheriff-brady-list-20171208-htmlstory.html

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Accused of molesting a teen, now a sergeant

Casey Dowling was a 28-year-old deputy more than two decades ago when a 14-year-old girl informed him that she had been the victim of a knife attack. The girl said Dowling told her to sit in his patrol car and then reached under her blouse and bra and touched her breast, according to a district attorney’s memo written at the time.

The girl said Dowling drove her home and followed her into her bedroom. There, she said, he asked if she was wearing panties and touched her again under her bra, according to the memo. Her mother said she saw Dowling in the bedroom, but walked away when the deputy moved toward the door as if he were leaving.

When confronted later by the teen about what happened, he contacted his union, according to the 1996 memo written by Deputy Dist. Atty. Bryant Bushling.

Bushling determined that there were “several circumstances which support the conclusion that Deputy Dowling has committed the violation alleged.” The deputy’s failure to take a crime report about the knife attack, his entering the girl’s bedroom and his failure to report the molestation allegations before contacting his union “vitiate his credibility,” the prosecutor wrote.

But Bushling declined to file criminal charges, concluding there was not enough evidence to corroborate the girl’s claims “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Civil service records show that the Sheriff’s Department discharged Dowling in 1997 for “immoral conduct” and that he filed an appeal.

What happened is confidential, but Dowling got his job back.

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-sheriff-brady-list-20171208-htmlstory.html

 

[dviss1]

But.. B... But... 99% of these guys are good cops!!!

 

[dviss1]

Amid growing public scrutiny over police misconduct, Sheriff Jim McDonnell wants to give the names on the list to prosecutors, who are required by law to tell criminal defendants about evidence that would damage the credibility of an officer called as a witness. But McDonnell’s efforts have ignited a fierce legal battle with the union that represents rank-and-file deputies.

The dispute, which the California Supreme Court is expected to decide next year, is playing out in a state with some of the nation’s strictest secrecy laws on police misconduct. California is among 22 states that keep officer discipline from the public, but it is the only one that blocks prosecutors from seeing entire police personnel files.

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-sheriff-brady-list-20171208-htmlstory.html

The biggest takeaway from this IMO is the fact that police officer testimony is almost ALWAYS considered credible.

The fact that you went to a 16 week police academy and passed a FAKE psych exam DOESN'T make you credible.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

But.. B... But... 99% of these guys are good cops!!!

The idea of getting blowies from random women to get out of tickets has to be one of the main reasons to want to be a cop.

That's just hot to some of us....we didn't get 7 billion people on this Earth from monogamous desires.

 

[dviss1]

The idea of getting blowies from random women to get out of tickets has to be one of the main reasons to want to be a cop.

That's just hot to some of us....we didn't get 7 billion people on this Earth from monogamous desires.

.....

Um.. That's not what he did... He forcibly raped black women who were in a bad position. He targeted them and FORCED himself upon them.

• March 14, 2014: Holtzclaw stopped a woman who was walking to a friend's house, asked her if she was in possession of any drugs, and forced her to expose her breasts.
• April 24, 2014: Holtzclaw stopped a woman who was prostituting herself for drugs. He drove her home and when they arrived he forced her to perform oral sex and then raped her.
• April 25, 2014: Holtzclaw pulled a woman over saying he was taking her to detox in jail; he instead drove her to a field and raped her, leaving her there after he was done.
• May 7, 2014: Holtzclaw stopped a woman while she walked to her cousin's house. After finding out she had some warrants, he forced her to perform oral sex and then raped her behind an abandoned school.
• May 8, 2014: According to a later investigation, "A woman, known in court documents as T.M., reported that an unidentified officer forced her to perform oral sex after he found a crack pipe in her purse. Although she filed a police report later that month, no connection was made to Holtzclaw at the time."
• May 21, 2014: Holtzclaw drove a woman to a secluded area and gave her an ultimatum: sex or jail. She performed oral sex on him and then he raped her. In an interview the woman said that she first thought it was a "cruel joke of some hidden-camera show" until she realized that he was serious. She said she "had been jailed many times before, and knew the math: a 15-minute ride downtown, two hours to be booked, up to a day of waiting to move to a cell, hearings drawn out over weeks or months," and then decided to give into his demands, which she figured would only take about six minutes.[20]
• May 26, 2014: Holtzclaw stopped a woman and touched her breasts and put his hand in her pants. The woman said she did not tell the police because she didn't think she'd be believed.
• June 17, 2014: According to an investigation, "A 17-year-old female is first stopped by Holtzclaw when he arrives to investigate a verbal dispute between two of her friends. Later, he tracks her down while she is walking home, threatens to arrest her for an outstanding warrant, and then takes her to her mother's house, where he forces her to perform oral sex and have intercourse with him on the enclosed porch."
• June 18, 2014: Around 2:00am, Holtzclaw had an encounter with a 57-year-old grandmother, Jannie Ligons, who would ultimately be the one to spark the investigation
• June 18, 2014: The final sexual incident occurred on the same day as the encounter reported by Ligons. According to testimony, Holtzclaw stopped a woman as she left a hotel where she had been staying with her boyfriend. After running a check on her he took her to a desolate area and raped her. She told her boyfriend about the attack and he told her that she should report the rape to the police. "He is the police", she responded.
• November 2014: In November three more victims came forward, bringing the total to 13. Previously unidentified DNA which had been found on Holtzclaw's pants was found to match that of a 17-year-old girl who had come forward regarding the June 17 event. Another woman said she was walking on May 22 when Holtzclaw stopped her to check for warrants. When he found that there were no warrants out for her he said he would jail her if she didn't have sex with him; he then forced her to perform oral sex and raped her. A third woman said that he told her he was bringing her to detox but instead brought her to an isolated area and raped her. Ten more counts, including "first-degree rape, second-degree rape by instrumentation, forcible oral sodomy, and sexual battery" were filed against Holtzclaw, who was still on paid leave.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

.....

Um.. That's not what he did... He forcibly raped black women who were in a bad position. He targeted them and FORCED himself upon them.

• March 14, 2014: Holtzclaw stopped a woman who was walking to a friend's house, asked her if she was in possession of any drugs, and forced her to expose her breasts.
• April 24, 2014: Holtzclaw stopped a woman who was prostituting herself for drugs. He drove her home and when they arrived he forced her to perform oral sex and then raped her.
• April 25, 2014: Holtzclaw pulled a woman over saying he was taking her to detox in jail; he instead drove her to a field and raped her, leaving her there after he was done.
• May 7, 2014: Holtzclaw stopped a woman while she walked to her cousin's house. After finding out she had some warrants, he forced her to perform oral sex and then raped her behind an abandoned school.
• May 8, 2014: According to a later investigation, "A woman, known in court documents as T.M., reported that an unidentified officer forced her to perform oral sex after he found a crack pipe in her purse. Although she filed a police report later that month, no connection was made to Holtzclaw at the time."
• May 21, 2014: Holtzclaw drove a woman to a secluded area and gave her an ultimatum: sex or jail. She performed oral sex on him and then he raped her. In an interview the woman said that she first thought it was a "cruel joke of some hidden-camera show" until she realized that he was serious. She said she "had been jailed many times before, and knew the math: a 15-minute ride downtown, two hours to be booked, up to a day of waiting to move to a cell, hearings drawn out over weeks or months," and then decided to give into his demands, which she figured would only take about six minutes.[20]
• May 26, 2014: Holtzclaw stopped a woman and touched her breasts and put his hand in her pants. The woman said she did not tell the police because she didn't think she'd be believed.
• June 17, 2014: According to an investigation, "A 17-year-old female is first stopped by Holtzclaw when he arrives to investigate a verbal dispute between two of her friends. Later, he tracks her down while she is walking home, threatens to arrest her for an outstanding warrant, and then takes her to her mother's house, where he forces her to perform oral sex and have intercourse with him on the enclosed porch."
• June 18, 2014: Around 2:00am, Holtzclaw had an encounter with a 57-year-old grandmother, Jannie Ligons, who would ultimately be the one to spark the investigation
• June 18, 2014: The final sexual incident occurred on the same day as the encounter reported by Ligons. According to testimony, Holtzclaw stopped a woman as she left a hotel where she had been staying with her boyfriend. After running a check on her he took her to a desolate area and raped her. She told her boyfriend about the attack and he told her that she should report the rape to the police. "He is the police", she responded.
• November 2014: In November three more victims came forward, bringing the total to 13. Previously unidentified DNA which had been found on Holtzclaw's pants was found to match that of a 17-year-old girl who had come forward regarding the June 17 event. Another woman said she was walking on May 22 when Holtzclaw stopped her to check for warrants. When he found that there were no warrants out for her he said he would jail her if she didn't have sex with him; he then forced her to perform oral sex and raped her. A third woman said that he told her he was bringing her to detox but instead brought her to an isolated area and raped her. Ten more counts, including "first-degree rape, second-degree rape by instrumentation, forcible oral sodomy, and sexual battery" were filed against Holtzclaw, who was still on paid leave.

Was just referring to this one line in the op.

A third pulled over a stranger and received oral sex from her in his patrol car.

 

[bodyman5000 and 1]

I don't know that that's the same guy, sounds like there were hundreds of people in the report.

 

[SportsAndWhine]

But.. B... But... 99% of these guys are good cops!!!

There are 9,000 Sheriff's deputies in California, which I guess puts the number at 97%... but in data quality terms, or computer uptime terms, 97% is not good at all. I'd say that a 3% corruption rate is not acceptable.

 

[dviss1]

There are 9,000 Sheriff's deputies in California, which I guess puts the number at 97%... but in data quality terms, or computer uptime terms, 97% is not good at all. I'd say that a 3% corruption rate is not acceptable.

Of those 9000 you still don't know who's good, bad, or a murderer. They don't speak up against their own. A GOOD cop upholds the law no matter who's breaking, or ignoring it.

 

[SportsAndWhine]

Of those 9000 you still don't know who's good, bad, or a murderer. They don't speak up against their own. A GOOD cop upholds the law no matter who's breaking, or ignoring it.

Totally agreed.

 

[MarAzul]

The fact that you went to a 16 week police academy and passed a FAKE psych exam DOESN'T make you credible.

Ok terminate them all. Then evaluate the livability of the City in, say 30 days.
Do you think it will be an improvement?

 

[MarAzul]

But.. B... But... 99% of these guys are good cops!!!

Ok terminate them all. Then evaluate the livability of the City in, say 30 days.
Do you think it will be an improvement?

 

[riverman]

Los Angeles cops have a long history of corruption and abuse of power....goes back to the days when Mafia dons were paying them off and trying to launder money through Hollywood films...probably the worst police force west of the Rockies by reputation...