Roque Cops, Social Bias, and an Unjust System - Part 1

Rogue cops. Police brutality. False imprisonment. Racial profiling. False charges. It is the reality of our system of justice at its roots. America's "finest," our brave and dedicated officers of the law, are quickly losing their hero-status reputation, replacing it with something sinister.

What is happening in our country, and why?

There's a dirty little secret concerning the American Judicial System and its inherent bias based on a person's social status. No one will admit it, but the bottom line is this: If you are poor, disabled, mentally challenged, uneducated, or a combination thereof, your chances of succeeding within the judicial system are less than the wealthier, educated, higher-class citizens.

The most vulnerable amongst us are falling victim to police brutality, to the abuse of power entrusted in our officers of the law. Rogue cops are no longer the rare officer on the force; they are becoming the rule rather than an exception to it. And unless you've got a pile full of money to hire "the best" legal team, or unless you are "someone" that "matters," (to society and the public eye, not to your friends and family), you don't have much of a chance when you get your day in court. That, sadly, is the truth.

Remember the OJ Simpson case?

A perfect example of how "innocence" can be purchased -- if you have enough money and clout -- is the case of the State of California vs. O.J. Simpson.

Celebrity O.J. Simpson was charged with the murder of two people -- two human beings who had a right to live, and live peacefully. After hiring the "best" defense team arguably ever assembled, O.J. walked. Even though he was later found liable by a civil jury, he would serve no time for the murders to his ex-wife and her friend. The majority of society was appalled and outraged, and for a short time we, as a nation, focused on the injustice of our system.

A very short time.

While the case of the People vs. O.J. Simpson is well known and documented, there is less reporting and far less understanding of exactly how many examples exist of a lack of justice for the common citizen.

[You'll want to check out Part 2 of this article, for an in-depth look at the rogue cop and the risk to society, including video evidence.]

The Process:

Understanding the criminal process is necessary to an understanding of how our underprivileged, uneducated, lower-class citizens are automatically disadvantaged when it comes to our judicial system.

It starts on the streets, with the rogue cop.

We know all about "racial profiling." Like it or not, it exists. Let's look at a recent example of a case that I'm personally familiar with:

A car full of black citizens visiting friends in a predominantly white, rural area are pulled over by the police. They are not advised as to why they are pulled over. So far as the driver is aware, she did nothing illegal (her lights were working, she signaled to make a right turn, and she never accelerated beyond 15 mph thereafter before she saw the flashing lights, etc.)

The four black occupants of the car are asked to step out of the vehicle whereupon they are all placed in handcuffs. Standing 15-20 feet from their vehicle, surrounding the trunk-end of the cop's car, one officer states, "Sure smells like marijuana to me. You smell that?" he says to his partner. And the partner replies, "Yep. Smells like weed to me, too."

After doing a pat-down of the 4 occupants, they begin to search the vehicle. Two more police cars -- for a total of 5 officers -- show up. More than 90 minutes later, after literally tearing the car apart, the 4 black occupants are freed to go. No apologies. No tickets. No arrests.

What happened?

In this instance, a police report was never written -- so there was nothing with which I could impeach the officer's should the matter proceed beyond an inquiry. With no charges, there are no damages. But there was, unquestionably, at least one law broken by the police. They detained these people beyond anything that could be considered reasonable, took from them their freedom (albeit temporarily), and damaged their property -- all without probably cause.

These were young adults, between the ages of 18 and 22. They cannot afford to pay an attorney to prosecute a case on their behalf. The harassment they endured did not lead to monetary damages (such as the cost of an attorney to represent them against criminal charges.)

Bottom line? Without money, there is nothing that can be done. If they could pay for an attorney to attempt to enforce their rights, they wouldn't have been harassed in the first place. In all my years, I've yet to see a car full of wealthy, white, professionals driving a BMW undergo a scenario that even slightly smells of this type of injustice.

Another example:

A poor white family with an autistic teen is approached by two officers. They want to ask questions about a tire that had been slashed the previous night in the apartment complex. The autistic teen explains to the officers that he was at a church the night before with his parents, preparing for a fundraiser to be held that very morning. The parents support this story and provide the names of two witnesses, just in case the officers somehow think that their special needs child had something to do with the tire slashing.

After nearly an hour of questioning, the autistic child grows visibly upset. His anxiety level is quickly rising, and his mother tells the police that she is concerned that her son might "rage" if the questioning continues. The cops say, "It doesn't matter who he is or what he's got; he better do exactly what we tell him to do or there's going to be trouble."

Suddenly, the police throw the boy to the ground and begin punching him in his temporal lobe -- the same area in which the child suffered a brain injury years prior. The mother screams, "Stop! Stop!" and the police reply, "We'll arrest you, too, if you don't shut the f*#% up!"

Both parents watch in horror as their autistic child is beaten till he loses consciousness. He is taken away while the mother is on the phone. She'd called 911 to report that her son was being assaulted, and she was told that the line was for "emergencies only."

Ultimately, the boy was charged with two felony counts including "pointing a loaded weapon at an officer." It was a completely fabricated charge -- like the allegation of the vehicle smelling like marijuana in the first example. Unquestionably, without a doubt, it did not happen. But, the officer's said that it did. It was now the word of a disabled kid and his "clearly biased" parents against the word of two officer's of the law.

At the trial, the police were unaware why their car cameras "didn't work" that particular day and therefore the video "evidence" could not be produced. Odd? Perhaps -- but also a common practice when that evidence doesn't support the written record. After all, there was no denying the fact that one of the then 3 police cars surrounding the boy and his parents would absolutely have caught the crime. Alas, none of the cameras were working that day. And, even though each officer's testimony contradicted the testimony of the other (i.e. they told different stories), and even though their testimony was contradicted by their own written reports (their oral testimony and the police reports severely differed), and even though both parents testified to the contrary, the court found the boy guilty.

After pronouncing him guilty, the judge said, off the record, "Son, I want to thank you for being so honest today. I have no doubt that you are telling the truth. I hope you understand the outcome here today."

It was at that moment that my jaw hit the floor. And, no, I didn't expect that the boy would ever possibly understand "the outcome." How could he? I didn't understand it, and I have a degree in this sort of thing.

Black vs. White? Uneducated vs. Educated? Poor vs. Rich? You decide:

Case #1

I sit down with a prosecutor to explain how my client -- a white doctor -- was pulled over and charged with a DUI. After a short conversation that has little to do with the charge against my client (who, by the way, didn't even attempt to claim to be innocent), the prosecutor confirms that he is reducing the charge to a parking violation. (It happens ALL the time, folks.)

Dr. White (not his real name), interestingly, complained that the arresting officer was "rude." There was "just something" about the officer's "attitude" that the doctor didn't like. When I told my client that he was lucky, his smug shrug told me that he thought he was simply "entitled." This client was never put in handcuffs, and neither he nor his vehicle were searched. He did the typical road-side sobriety test, and failed. The officer then drove him home, a convenience he offered my client "out of courtesy."

The white doctor pays my fee, and I turn my attention to another client -- one whom I represent pro bono (for free).

Case #2

This client is poor, black, and uneducated. He's had a tough life, having escaped the grasp of the gangs surrounding him on every corner, the abuse of his step-father, and the atrocities associated with his crack-addicted mother.

He works with kids, mentoring them, trying to help them find a way out of the cycle they've been born into. He does this work for free. In fact, it is because he gives so much to these kids that he, himself, has nothing more than a well-deserved sense of pride and respect.

He ventures beyond his neighborhood and into a predominantly white area. He'd just dropped off one the kids he mentors after discovering a marijuana pipe in the child's possession. He confiscates the pipe and returns the child to his home, having warned the kid that this was his "first strike," and that if he broke my client's no-drug rule again, he'd be out of the program.

Minutes later, he is pulled over. No explanation, just the demand to "get out of the vehicle and put your hands on the hood." He is searched. Aware that the drug paraphernalia he's just confiscated is in his car, he does not give the officer permission to search the car. He is then placed in hand-cuffs and detained for 30 minutes while they wait for the narcotics officer and drug-sniffing dogs to arrive (with no probable cause to do so, I might add). The dogs sniff out the pipe, scratching at the vehicle near the passenger side of the car. The car is searched, the pipe is discovered, and my client is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia -- a misdemeanor.

I sit down with the prosecutor, and I explain the situation. He silently looks through the police report before grumbling, "Well, we have a problem here. Apparently your guy admitted to smoking dope." I knew that was not true. "They report here that the car smelled like weed." Again, I knew this was not true. "You want me to dismiss the charge just because your guy says he's not guilty?" I explain the damage that will result to this man's entire youth program as a result of this misdemeanor. Certainly the prosecutor can see the harm?

The prosecutor won't budge. I get angry. "The thing that bothers me most is that I know, without a doubt, that if I walked in here representing Dr. So and So or Representative Such and Such, our conversation would have gone much differently!" He says, "You're asking me to call my officers a liar. If I drop this charge, it means I don't believe the report of the police." I can't believe he just said this. "First of all, you know as well as I do that your conclusion is inaccurate. It does NOT mean you don't believe your officers. And second of all, don't try to tell me that you are unaware of how often these cops fabricate probably cause. Come on, man. I'm not that naive."

After more than an hour of arguing with the man, after pointing out that the cops allowed my client to get back in his car and drive away even though they were reporting that he was "high," the prosecutor would only go so far as to say he'd talk to the arresting officers and "consider" some community service on the part of my guy in exchange for a reduction in the charges.

Justice?

Unquestionably, a drunk driver poses a much more serious threat than does a driver who has a pipe in his glove-box; no drugs, just a pipe. Without a doubt, the DWI is much more serious than a charge of possessing paraphernalia. So, if it isn't the social status of these two individuals that directly influenced their case outcome, what was it?

There are seemingly endless examples like the ones I've shared here. They come from every state, every city, every rural community, every police force, within the boundaries of our One Nation ... Indivisible.

It is the stories that we don't hear or see, that are never reported in the papers, on the news, or over the Internet, that are most telling: "White Senator harassed by black cops." That's a headline that doesn't exist. "White girls from private school busted for narcotics violation." It's a news story that is never told. And so on.

This is not to say that the middle and upper class citizens aren't sometimes prosecuted. They are. (Can you say, "Martha Stewart"?) But it is the frequency with which our economically comfortable, our educated, our professionals, and their offspring, have to face the smaller "crimes" and the consequences therefrom. A quick call to an attorney, like me, is usually all that is needed. Cases disappear. They are dropped. Charges are reduced. Whatever it takes to keep the stains off of the records for our privileged.

The under-privileged, the citizens who cannot afford an attorney, the people who aren't educated enough to know they have the right to say "No" when a cop asks to search a vehicle, and so forth -- these are our neighbors in one way or another. And each time a rogue cop so easily permeates the life of someone who is so vulnerable, the person's already-too-difficult life becomes that much more complicated. He feels like he can never win, never get ahead, never find justice. And, his feelings are more than justified.

In a nutshell, the overwhelming majority of "criminals" are poor, uneducated, and black. And so many -- too many -- get their labels not by virtue of a crime, but by the direct correlation between trumped up charges and the ease with which a rogue cop, a biased prosecutor, and a politically motivated judge can push these people through a system without concern for personal liability. After all, these are people whose voices are not heard. Their purses are empty and they can't pay for food, in many cases, much less the forum needed in order for someone to actually listen.

The Consequences of Injustice on Society

The names and faces of all of these people who have been so unfairly treated in our society are, for the most part, unknown. Most of them never even speak to an attorney, much less find one who will write an article like this. But they exist. They make up a large part of our society. Karma is building.

While larger rings of rogue cops, such as a fairly recent Floridian case, will eventually be discovered and stopped, it is the smaller police departments that I fear the most. In rural communities, for example, most officers don't have partners. Their counties can't afford it. These cops ride -- and arrest -- alone. The alleged "smell of marijuana" will, of course, have dissipated by the time back-up arrives. It becomes the officer's word against the poor black kid. The swollen jaw of the young man dressed as if he is homeless will be reported as a cop's reaction to a perceived threat. No one witnessed that threat, of course. Cops word against the accused.

I've yet to witness a judge take the word of the accused over the word of a police officer -- even when there is solid evidence to prove the cop is blatantly lying. If it happens, it is rare.

For people unaffected by this injustice in our society, it is as if the problem itself doesn't exist. But ultimately, we all pay the price -- in one way or another -- by our failure to stand up and do something about it. The taxes we pay, for example, are higher because of the number of ridiculous cases that are prosecuted. The money needed to pay public defenders to represent an endless supply of poor "criminals" is much more because of the rogue practices within the judicial system.

I am angry. And I am frustrated. Ultimately, I am helpless to do more than I am already doing, and it is not even a drop in the bucket. I have to write anonymously lest I jeopardize my ability to represent my clients as fairly as possible. Should even one cop, prosecutor, or judge know my true identity, their resulting bias would harm my clients, undoubtedly.

But the fact remains that the tide must turn. The good people in our society need to lend volume to the voices of our faceless, voiceless citizens who are the victims of an unjust system. The good cops, good prosecutors, and good judges -- because there are more good than bad -- likewise need to take a stand. If we can't trust the good people within the system to protect us from the bad, we are lost. And, as of now, we can't trust.

The following links take you to more stories, more examples, of the injustice that I've discussed here. I hope you'll take some time to explore them:

Rogue Cops, Social Bias, and an Unjust System -- Part 2: The second part of the article you've just read, with an in-depth look at the rogue cop and the dangers to society including video evidence. Don't miss it!

Police brutality and abuse of a scared woman on an isolated road: The craziness of cops in Arizona.

12-year old mentally challenged girl beaten by rogue cop and shot with beanbag gun: Read the story and discover the cop's justification. A real head-shaker.

A shocking -- SHOCKING -- first hand account of brutality and abuse by our officials: In the after-math of hurricane Andrew.

An example of good cop vs. bad cop, and the aftermath: Oakland, CA; a rookie officer can't stomach the rogue actions of fellow officers, and blows the whistle. Guess what happens?

An example of how rogue cops caught in the act are protected: One city mayor jumps on the bandwagon to shade the inappropriate actions of a network of rogue cops.

Beyond our Borders: Another country asks for help from US to stamp out rogue cops? Seriously?!