Questions on the law

[liberty]

1. Is the city a part of the county?

2. Does the sheriff have a responsibility to investigate police departments in his jurisdiction of which he has received citizen complaints of corruption or abuse?

Should we as a society continue to attempt to improve the quality of law enforcement?

Should we in our states have a department dedicated to investigating local law enforcement of misconduct?

[liberty]

error

[Miles]

Should we in our states have a department dedicated to investigating local law enforcement of misconduct?

I believe that would be the state attorney generals office.

[liberty]

Should we in our states have a department dedicated to investigating local law enforcement of misconduct?

I believe that would be the state attorney generals office.

Yes, but are they dedicated to the ensuring the quality of law enforcement in the state?

My organization would be composed of two divisions. One would be composed of agents that would check on patrol officers. They would set up situations , with safety parameters, such as speeding, running traffic stop signs or DWI situations that they would use to evaluation the officer.

The other division would actively search for suspected miscarries of justice to investigate and suggest corrective action.

Last night, I happen to get home in time to watch a segment of Front Line on PBS. It dealt what the conviction of the North fork Four. It was an obvious and outrageous miscarriage of justice. We can not tolerate this kind of stuff

[Rick]

Should we in our states have a department dedicated to investigating local law enforcement of misconduct?

Here in AR that responsibilities lies with the State Police...

[loCAtek]

Call the FBI;

Federal Civil Enforcement

"Police Misconduct Provision"

This law makes it unlawful for State or local law enforcement officers to engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives persons of rights protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States. (42 U.S.C. § 14141). The types of conduct covered by this law can include, among other things, excessive force, discriminatory harassment, false arrests, coercive sexual conduct, and unlawful stops, searches or arrests. In order to be covered by this law, the misconduct must constitute a "pattern or practice" -- it may not simply be an isolated incident. The DOJ must be able to show in court that the agency has an unlawful policy or that the incidents constituted a pattern of unlawful conduct. However, unlike the other civil laws discussed below, DOJ does not have to show that discrimination has occurred in order to prove a pattern or practice of misconduct.

What remedies are available under this law?

The remedies available under this law do not provide for individual monetary relief for the victims of the misconduct. Rather, they provide for injunctive relief, such as orders to end the misconduct and changes in the agency's policies and procedures that resulted in or allowed

the misconduct. There is no private right of action under this law; only DOJ may file suit for violations of the Police Misconduct Provision.



Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
and the "OJP Program Statute"

Together, these laws prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, and religion by State and local law enforcement agencies that receive financial assistance from the Department of Justice. (42 U.S.C. § 2000d, et seq. and 42 U.S.C. § 3789d(c)). Currently, most persons are served by a law enforcement agency that receives DOJ funds. These laws prohibit both individual instances and patterns or practices of discriminatory misconduct, i.e., treating a person differently because of race, color, national origin, sex, or religion. The misconduct covered by Title VI and the OJP (Office of Justice Programs) Program Statute includes, for example, harassment or use of racial slurs, unjustified arrests, discriminatory traffic stops, coercive sexual conduct, retaliation for filing a complaint with DOJ or participating in the investigation, use of excessive force, or refusal by the agency to respond to complaints alleging discriminatory treatment by its officers.

What remedies are available under these laws?

DOJ may seek changes in the policies and procedures of the agency to remedy violations of these laws and, if appropriate, also seek individual remedial relief for the victim(s). Individuals also have a private right of action under Title VI and under the OJP Program Statute; in other words, you may file a lawsuit yourself under these laws. However, you must first exhaust your administrative remedies by filing a complaint with DOJ if you wish to file in Federal Court under the OJP Program Statute.


...


How to File a Complaint with DOJ

Criminal Enforcement

If you would like to file a complaint alleging a violation of the criminal laws discussed above, you may contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is responsible for investigating allegations of criminal deprivations of civil rights. You may also contact the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) in your district. The FBI and USAOs have offices in most major cities and have publicly-listed phone numbers. In addition, you may send a written complaint to:

Criminal Section - PHB
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20530

Civil Enforcement

If you would like to file a complaint alleging violations of the Police Misconduct Statute, Title VI, or the OJP Program Statute, you may send a written complaint to:

Federal Compliance and Coordination Section - NWB
Civil Rights Division
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20530

You may also call the Federal Compliance and Coordination Section's toll-free number for information and a complaint form, at (888) 848-5306 (voice and TDD).

[liberty]

Loca, it doesn't looks that the feds are doing a very good job of it at least at protecting the rights of white sailors.



Well this is justice of some kind, but the Son of A Bitch should never have been a cop in the in the first place. If the system that I have been advocating for years was instituted he probably would have been caught as a patrol officer. There are times that detectives make honest mistakes and lives are destroyed, but this was criminal and should have been caught by some agency of state government.



http://norfolkfour.com/



Feature Documentary
The Norfolk Four story is featured in the PBS Frontline documentary
"The Confessions," which can be viewed online here.

If you would like to comment on the film or share information, please contact the legal team here.
Case Status
On August 6, 2009, three of the Norfolk Four received conditional pardons from Governor Tim Kaine. Derek Tice, Danial Williams, and Joseph Dick, Jr. have been released from prison and rejoined their families after more than 11 harsh years in prison. Please click here for the Norfolk Four press release.
On September 14, 2009, Judge Richard L. Williams of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Derek Tice’s federal habeas petition and overturned Mr. Tice’s conviction. In the opinion, Judge Williams finds that the state trial court’s grant of Mr. Tice’s habeas petition based on the violation of his constitutional rights was correct, and that the Virginia Supreme Court’s reversal of that decision was an “objectively unreasonable” application of federal law. Click here to read the opinion in its entirety.
A Miscarriage of Justice
Four innocent men, Danial Williams, Joseph Dick, Derek Tice, and Eric Wilson, all veterans of the U.S. Navy, were convicted of crimes they did not commit. An objective, comprehensive review of this case by the nation’s leading experts in the fields of forensic pathology, forensic DNA analysis, crime scene reconstruction, and false confessions leaves no doubt that Danial, Joe, Derek, and Eric were wrongly accused, falsely confessed, and are all innocent. They were convicted based on false confessions extracted by a detective who has a documented history of eliciting false confessions and has recently been indicted by a federal grand jury on extortion charges. (Read more about the detective here.)
On October 27, 2010, the detective was convicted by a U.S. District Court on two counts of extortion and one count of making false statements to the FBI. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each count of extortion and up to five years in prison on the count of making false statements. (Read a press release issued by the Norfolk Four legal team following the detective’s conviction here).
In Virginia and around the nation, innocent people are being freed in cases where the exonerating physical evidence is much less compelling than here.
Click here to view a summary of the Norfolk Four innocence case.
Proof of Innocence
The real murderer, Omar Ballard, is also serving—among other sentences—a double-life sentence for this crime. Ballard has admitted repeatedly, and confirms to this day (including in sworn testimony to a Virginia court), that he committed this crime alone. The physical evidence conclusively establishes Ballard’s guilt. Exacting DNA testing conducted by the Commonwealth has proven beyond doubt that Ballard—and only Ballard—was the source of semen and blood recovered from the crime scene. And there was no DNA or other physical evidence whatsoever linking the sailors or anyone other than Ballard to this crime. Nevertheless, four innocent men were convicted based on false confessions extracted by a detective who has a documented history of eliciting false confessions.
Nationally Renowned Experts and Prominent Bipartisan Supporters Agree: The Norfolk Four are Innocent
Four former Republican and Democratic Virginia Attorneys’ General, a Republican former President of The Virginia Bar Association, twelve former US Attorneys and Federal and State Judges, and over thirty former FBI Special Agents are among the many respected individuals who have carefully reviewed the facts and concluded that a grave injustice has occurred. They have all called on Governor Kaine to grant pardons to the Norfolk Four. View the letter from the former FBI Special Agents to Governor Kaine, and footage from the former FBI Special Agents’ press conference.
Danial, Joseph, and Derek spent nearly a dozen years behind bars for a crime that another man committed, and Eric served eight-and-a-half years. All the men are still fighting to clear their names.
Click here to view press on the case.
Click here to view a documentary film about this injustice.
Click here to Read About a Recently-Published Book on The Norfolk Four entitled: "The Wrong Guys: Murder, False Confessions, and the Norfolk Four," by Tom Wells & Richard A. Leo.

[rubato]

First we got watchers. Because things needed watching.

And all was good.

Then we discovered that a few of the watchers were not all that honest and realized that what we needed to fix everything were a few watcher-watchers.

And everything was harmony and peace.

Until.

A few of the no-goodnik watchers had a talk with some of the watcher-watchers (or maybe it was the other way around) and they realized just how totally awesome it would be to combine forces and have some real fun.

And once again we knew what was needed.

A special class of watcher-watcher-watchers with the power to investigate watcher-watchers who were falling down on the job or even colluding with watchers.

And once again we knew that we had done good and got right to the root of the problem (watcher-watchers need watchers! It was obvious from the first!) and now all would be well.

..........................................zzz

[Sue U]

First we got watchers. Because things needed watching.

And all was good.

Then we discovered that a few of the watchers were not all that honest and realized that what we needed to fix everything were a few watcher-watchers.

And everything was harmony and peace.

Until.

A few of the no-goodnik watchers had a talk with some of the watcher-watchers (or maybe it was the other way around) and they realized just how totally awesome it would be to combine forces and have some real fun.

And once again we knew what was needed.

A special class of watcher-watcher-watchers with the power to investigate watcher-watchers who were falling down on the job or even colluding with watchers.

And once again we knew that we had done good and got right to the root of the problem (watcher-watchers need watchers! It was obvious from the first!) and now all would be well.

..........................................zzz

Yes, but look at the exponential rate of job creation. Unemployment solved!

[Andrew D]

First we got watchers. Because things needed watching.

And we found that things were less bad with the watchers than they had been without them.

Then we discovered that a few of the watchers were not all that honest, so we decided to have some watcher-watchers.

And we found that things were even less bad with the watcher-watchers than they had been without them.

Then someone pointed out that we could go on like that forever: Watchers, watcher-watchers, watcher-watcher-watchers, etc.

But then someone pointed out that things really had got better when we instituted the watchers. And things really had got even better when we instituted the watcher-watchers. And things might well be better still if we were to institute the watcher-watcher-watchers.

And when someone pointed out again that we could go on like that forever, better minds gave that objection the derisive snort that was all that it deserved.

[liberty]

First we got watchers. Because things needed watching.

And all was good.

Then we discovered that a few of the watchers were not all that honest and realized that what we needed to fix everything were a few watcher-watchers.

And everything was harmony and peace.

Until.

A few of the no-goodnik watchers had a talk with some of the watcher-watchers (or maybe it was the other way around) and they realized just how totally awesome it would be to combine forces and have some real fun.

And once again we knew what was needed.

A special class of watcher-watcher-watchers with the power to investigate watcher-watchers who were falling down on the job or even colluding with watchers.

And once again we knew that we had done good and got right to the root of the problem (watcher-watchers need watchers! It was obvious from the first!) and now all would be well.

..........................................zzz

It comes down to this: We can try or we can do nothing. I am inclined to try and try again if necessary. I can’t believe that we can’t find people that we can depend on to do the right thing.

When there is a consequence for bad behavior and the possibility that one could face the consequence there will be less bad behavior. The very existence of such an organization and system would in itself discourage police abuse and corruption. The problem is that some police feel they are above the law.

[Sue U]

The problem is that some police generally feel they are above the law.

Fixed that for you.

The problem is that in all fields, some percentage of workers will abuse their positions and a somewhat larger percentage will be simply incompetent. I would bet that addressing such problems by improving professionalism is probably just as effective and not nearly as costly as creating another entire level of supervisory bureaucracy.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I would bet that addressing such problems by improving professionalism is probably just as effective and not nearly as costly as creating another entire level of supervisory bureaucracy.

Which is precisely why it wouldn't happen.

[liberty]

I would bet that addressing such problems by improving professionalism is probably just as effective and not nearly as costly as creating another entire level of supervisory bureaucracy.

Which is precisely why it wouldn't happen.

It has been a couple of heavy days, but I m back.

Sue and older, I disagree; what is usually meant by professionalism is high education followed by high pay, but a highly paid and educated thug is still just a thug. When ones holds a position of responsibility and public trust such as a law enforcement officers a high level of professionalism should be demanded regardless of the pay or formal education.

Professionalism should be demanded and those that refuse should be at least dismissed.

To aid in this at the state level should exist an organization dedicated to finding these people as well as miscarriages of justice. The problem with doing this at the local level is that it is hard to be objective with the people you know and like. Some internal affairs departments in big city police departments may work well. But it didn’t work at Northfolk Virginia. There is intense social pressure; no one wants to be the rat fink.

[Sue U]

Sue and older, I disagree; what is usually meant by professionalism is high education followed by high pay,

No, what is meant by "professionalism" is a self-enforcing standard of conduct and ethics that is generated by pride in the quality of one's work and is ensured by accountability for the end result. (It has nothing to do with pay grade, but if you ask me, police are already probably the most over-paid segment of public employees, particularly when considering overtime, retirement benefits and off-duty "private" employment.) Education and training -- on a continuing basis -- are necessarily a part of maintaining professional standards, particularly in fields that require a high level of discretionary judgment and where conditions, tools, techniques and expectations can change rapidly. Professionalism is essentially a state of mind instilled by knowing what you are doing, understanding why you are doing it, wanting do it better, and recognizing that it matters.

[Guinevere]

What Sue said in spades.