Florida police chief instructed officers to pin crimes on innocent black people, probe finds

[Mockingbird]

Quote

 

A former police chief and two officers in Florida were charged with federal civil rights violations after pinning a series of burglaries on an innocent black teenager. 

 

Biscayne Park police department’s former chief Ray Atesanio, as well as officers Raul Fernandez and Charlie Dayoub, plead not guilty this week to falsely charging a black Haitian-American teenager with burglary. But an internal probe of the department in 2014 found that, under the ex-police chief, officers were encouraged to charge nearby blacks with reported crimes.

 

Documents reviewed by the Miami Herald reveal how Mr Atesanio was allegedly hoping to bolster data surrounding successful convictions for crimes in Biscayne Park by charging innocent minorities who may have past criminal records. 

 

“If they have burglaries that are open cases that are not solved yet, if you see anybody black walking through our streets and they have somewhat of a record, arrest them so we can pin them for all the burglaries,” Anthony De La Torre, who worked in the department under Mr Atesanio, told outside investigators conducting the probe. ”They were basically doing this to have a 100 per cent clearance rate for the city.”

 

A third of the police department told investigators they were regularly encouraged to file false charges and felt pressure to oblige with such demands. 

 

Heidi Shafran, a local community leader and village manager at Biscayne Park, said officers were targeting racial minorities under Mr Atesanio. 

 

[...]

 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/police-racism-us-florida-miami-crime-raimundo-atesiano-raul-fernandez-charlie-dayoub-a8445021.html

[wakjak]

This is why they kneel.

[FloatingFatMan]

So... Why didn't they just refuse and report the police chief? If they went along with it, they are just as guilty as the guy ordering them to do it.

[techbeck]

Yup. there are bad Police officers, military personnel, cooks, cleaners, and all other professions.  But a few bad eggs does not mean all police are bad as well.  Sort these fools out and move on.