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    MajorBurnAnne Branigin
    11/27/18 10:23am

    An “unprecedented” case of officers being held accountable for the public harm they do, and held to standards like the rest of us.

    I think the trend usually has Officers walking on bench trials.

    “Douglas Colbert, a University of Maryland law professor who has been following the case, added, “It’s always surprising when an accused person opts to be judged by the court and not by the community of jurors.

    “And yet, in the relatively rare instances where police officers are defendants, they have consistently opted for judge trials — with very good results for the defendants,” he said.”

    http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/freddie-gray/bs-md-ci-goodson-trial-motions-20160606-story.html

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      ARP2MajorBurn
      11/27/18 10:39am

      Likely because judges view themselves on the same “team” as the cops. They also know that if they are elected, they will be viewed negatively by the “law and order” types who are only for “law and order” when it involves brown people. Those people consistently vote. 

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      JeredMajorBurn
      11/27/18 10:43am

      I think judges are more likely to go by strict law interpretation.  And in most cases, the law allows for cops to get away with almost anything as long as they’ve got that badge pinned to their chests.  Ask the a$$hole judge in Baltimore who let everyone walk when the cops murdered Freddie Gray.

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    Rodgers CollarboneAnne Branigin
    11/27/18 10:43am

    Weren’t there also officers who deleted nearby surveillance video from a Burger King or some other store? Going after the officers willing to protect the scumbags feels just as important towards getting any real accountability.

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      cjas9298Rodgers Collarbone
      11/27/18 1:32pm

      “When the police left the restaurant almost two hours later, the video had an inexplicable 86-minute gap that included when McDonald was shot, according to Jay Darshane, a district manager for the fast-food chain.”

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    Old white guyAnne Branigin
    11/27/18 10:41am

    But the officers’ attorneys claim all they did was file paperwork with a few mistakes—and that it isn’t a crime to file an inaccurate police report, writes the Tribune.

    And yet if a citizen did the exact same thing, these officers would have no problem hauling that person in and charging them with a series of crimes.

    Plus, aren’t official reports signed under threat of perjury? Or is that, again, only the average citizen who’s under that threat, not the professional police officer? 

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    skefflesAnne Branigin
    11/27/18 11:30am

    Cops that cover for their brothers in blue ought to get a higher sentence than the original perpetrator.

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      Woshiernogskeffles
      11/27/18 9:52pm

      I feel like that could have rhymed better.

      “Cops that cover for their brothers in blue ought to get a higher sentence than the original perpetrator do.”

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    TrumpsTinyHandsAnne Branigin
    11/27/18 11:33am

    They didn’t lie, they all just happened to mis-remember the same thing that didn’t actually happen.

    -Some high-priced defense lawyer in his/her opening statement, no doubt.

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      WoshiernogTrumpsTinyHands
      11/27/18 9:50pm

      It happens in extreme cases of transferred stress.

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    Raineyb1013Anne Branigin
    11/27/18 2:18pm

    Cops like bench trials; it allows them to avoid being convicted by a jury. Bench trials tend to go well for cops.

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    Shivaya NamahAnne Branigin
    11/27/18 10:39am

    Do your jobs.

    Reply