At one point during the interrogation, the investigators even threatened to have his pet Labrador Retriever, Margosha, euthanized as a stray, and brought the dog into the room so he could say goodbye. “OK? Your dog’s now gone, forget about it,” said an investigator.
Finally, after curling up with the dog on the floor, Perez broke down and confessed. He said he had stabbed his father multiple times with a pair of scissors during an altercation in which his father hit Perez over the head with a beer bottle.
Perez’s father wasn’t dead — or even missing. Thomas Sr. was at Los Angeles International Airport waiting for a flight to see his daughter in Northern California. But police didn’t immediately tell Perez.
So taxpayers are paying this right?
The cops responsible should be forced to give every penny they have to their name. Cash, property, investments, 401k, the clothes on their fucking back. Then they can go work in those prison chain gangs for 8 dollars a day picking up trash on the streets to pay off the remaining debt. Unironically.
Fucking awful, never call the police
I’d love to see a JCS episode on this.
How are these cops not under arrest by the FBI and why aren’t they on trial??
How is it they’re not treated like the criminals they are?!
Because all cops are bastards. The system is working as intended.
There was a case here in Sweden where the Swedish police was tipped off on a potential paedophile by an American agency that had trawled through Yahoo email and found suspected CSAM. Swedish Police essentially swatted this man, assaulted him early in the morning, while he was in his bed sleeping, took him away without telling him what was going on; he thought he was being kidnapped. Eventually when it was made clear that the materials were private photos of him and his 30 year old boyfriend getting it on, they faced no repercussions.
The reasoning behind it? The police were masked so they couldn’t single out who was responsible for the assault. Of course they knew who was present, but since they didn’t know the actual perps it’d be unfair to investigate properly because that’d put them all under unfair suspicion, and it obviously wouldn’t be reasonable to punish all of the police present.
But it’s perfectly okay to beat the shit out of someone they think is a paedophile, and honestly it’s probably because he’s of middle-eastern descent.
I’ve tried and failed to find an article telling this story. Do you have a link?
It honestly wasn’t as covered as it ought have been. SVT has a couple of articles, as well as an outlet called Kontext Press.
- Article about the event on SVT
- Article on how the officers were never questioned
- Article on how video evidence (and the lack thereof in this case) is often critical when it comes to punishing misbehaving cops
There’s also three articles on Kontext. I hadn’t heard of Kontext before, and was thus rather suspicious of the whole thing; it all sounds too American to be true. SVT however is a very reputable source.
- Article about the event on Kontext
- Article on how cases like these often don’t lead to any sort of punishment
- Follow-up with a chief of police on the event, who tries very hard to say that the thing didn’t happen without outright stating that the victim is lying
It’s all in Swedish. I’ve tried and failed to locate sources in English before. This event wasn’t reported on nearly as much as I personally would’ve liked to see. My impression of Swedish police has always been a positive one, but this kind of thing is beyond unforgivable.
Please don’t spread misinformation.
- Article about the event on SVT
- Article on how the officers were never questioned
- Article on how video evidence (and the lack thereof in this case) is often critical when it comes to punishing misbehaving cops
- Article about the event on Kontext
- Article on how cases like these often don’t lead to any sort of punishment
- Follow-up with a chief of police on the event, who tries very hard to say that the thing didn’t happen without outright stating that the victim is lying
Knock yourself out, sweaty.
that’s not all cops, not even close.
All cops participate in a system of state-sponsored cruelty, racism, corruption, and violence. Their purpose is to suppress minorities and the poor in the interest of capital. Any cop who participates in this system is culpable for its outcomes even if they personally did not engage in unlawful or cruel behavior.
So yes, all cops are bastards.
I’m not sure by now but I used to think that some of fresh cops may be all right and they usually get removed from cops soon.
At least, I can imagine how one can want to do good until they’re shown and/or involved in the actual crap on their first day or month of work.
I know of non-US corrupt police practices that boils down to “order something illegal to be done in a group with a newbie”. If ey refuse it’s goodbye immediately, if ey agree however reluctant ey is already a criminal and if something happens ey can get accused and get a jail. This makes every cop a possible target and they are very loyal out of fear, it seems
Different orgs, same cartel
This wasn’t a bug, it was a feature.
A man needs a name
This should have got people fucking rioting in the streets or protesting like George Floyd.
The fuck os wrong with Americans.
Americans don’t have meaningful protests like other countries because they’re so indoctrinated into thinking they’re bad
Americans don’t have meaningful protests like other countries because they’re so indoctrinated into thinking they’re bad
We have meaningful protests but they’re crushed and counter-protested with impunity. People are so dejected and alienated and yes, indoctrinated and turned against one another that it’s fucking hard to get any progress.
Tbh, I think a big part of the 2020 protests was Covid acting as a pressure cooker. All we had was time and anger. Much harder to get gatherings like that when folks are busy working. Healthcare being tied to jobs makes all my friends raising kids pretty shit for the protest scene too. Much harder to be a revolutionary when you have something to lose.
sorry only blacks have the right to play victims of racism in the US.
Removed, racism.
Wtf? Lol
Moron: confirmed.
Play victim? Pick up a history book sometime bro. Like, covering any year from the 1700s to like…last week
ACAB
Kill them. I condone it.
Removed, advocating violence.
I feel like if someone threatens to kill your dog for literally no reason other than they want to hurt and scare you, than it is unreasonable to expect that person won’t attempt to use lethal force to stop you. It is also unreasonable to label that person as a dangerous, unhinged person for reacting in this way.
What do you think they hate their dog?
Sure if it came to me choosing between my dog’s life and a human’s life I feel like I am going to choose the human probably right? Even if they are a stranger, honestly it just wouldn’t feel right to pick my dog idk… but if the human is just casually telling me they are going to murder my dog for no good reason, than I think one has ethical permission to use any action necessary up to and including ending that person’s life in an attempt to stop the unnecessary murder of the dog (assuming again the dog is just chilling, existing, not hurting anyone). That is fundamentally an act of non-violence though on security camera footage it will look like an act of unhinged violence without context.
It really doesn’t matter how credible the threat is, if someone makes a threat to murder your dog with a straight face they should expect the owner of the dog to attempt to use lethal force to stop them because the dog’s owner/human friend is completely 1000% justified in doing so no matter the context of whether the murderer supposedly represents a “justice system” or not.
The only ethical expectation on the dog owner/human friend is to escalate their violent response in a reasonable way that allows for de-escalation at every step (i.e. don’t jump straight to the most extreme response unless you have to)… which is kind of hard to suss out when you have two extremely large men threatening you in a small room within a building brimming with bigots and guns that is wrapped up in a brutally cruel justice system you might never escape if you piss the wrong cop off on the wrong day.
humans need to go
The attorney is the hero of this story, suing the cops for 40 years 💪❤️
The sad part of this is that the tax payers have been the one funding this without any improvements in police behavior.
When I see this, I don’t only see this man, I see every man, woman, and child who interacted with this police precinct.
How many current prisoners were put in prison by this type of psychological torture?
How many of those prisoners weren’t as lucky as this man to have undeniable evidence of innocence?
How many citizens going about their day pull off the road when they spot a police car in their rear view mirror due to terrifying encounters shared by neighbors?
Fascist morons. Morons seem particularly useful to fascists, they love being the boot and they are too stupid to look up and see an even larger boot ready to crush them when they step out of line.
Pretty much this. Every interrogation or arrest these fucks were a part of SHOULD now be suspect. Every single one.
Disgusting.
Almost as disgusting as the fact that they’ll likely keep doing this with no repercussions.
Pretty much this. Since the taxpayers are footing the bill and, from what we can tell, the officers have had absolutely no discipline placed upon them, they’ll keep doing this. Because they know it works. It doesn’t matter that they tried to get an innocent man to admit to actual murder, all they want is that confession - not necessarily the truth (because the truth is hard and simply threatening or beating a confession out of someone who’s been arrested is much easier).
Tbh, I don’t consider these officers to be human. They don’t really deserve human rights.
I mean, they’re not officers. They’re criminals in blue, hiding behind a badge.
To these people, making sure everyone knows they’re ‘police’ is important to them, it’s they’re entire identity. So strip then of that.
But they are police officers, that’s the problem. And there are still others doing this and worse, and they’re all protected.
I mean it sounds like they tortured this man for fun. Absolutely harrowing. ACAB holds true.
Any officers
You are a fucking shitty investigator if you have to threaten to kill a man’s dog to get him to talk. I’m surprised this guy still has all of his fingernails.
The tax payer pays up almost $1M and these scumbags remain employed. How predictable.
Also, just in case anyone isn’t aware: rule number one if you’re in the US and police ever bring you in and try to interrogate you is to shut down and demand a lawyer. Legally, the interview has to stop immediately until you have one present. If the officers don’t comply, then you know they’re corrupt and there’s no reason to believe anything they say from that point onwards.
Am I under arrest?
No -> goodbye
Yes -> lawyer -> STFU
Then you know the fun is just beginning
Unfortunately, there has been precedent for the argument that the right to remain silent is one that needs to be continuously and positively invoked.
So if they keep interrogating you and you choose to start talking, that can be interpreted as you waiving your right to remain silent.https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/questioning-after-claiming-miranda.html
https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/when-how-invoke-your-right-silence.html
Remaining silent is not enough, you have to articulate that you want to invoke your right to remain silent, unambiguously request a lawyer (no “I think I should have a lawyer for this”), and request a lawyer generally (no “I want a lawyer before I answer any questions about where I was”).
“I am invoking my right to remain silent and I want a lawyer” is basically all you should say.
The ACLU remains an excellent resource for being aware of your rights.
Yeah, the police should be required to ask if you wish to remain silent and if you’d like a lawyer
It’s fun to mock sovcit whackos, but this is the sort of thing that gives them the idea that there are magic words they can invoke that let them wallhack through the legal system. The judicial system has spent literally hundreds of years working hand-in-glove with police and prosecutors to make it as difficult as possible for the everyday citizen to exercise the legal rights that protect you from them, and only by knowing exactly how to navigate the legal labyrinth set up between you and those rights can you actually use them.
A lot of it’s not intentionally for that purpose, but a side effect of hundreds of years of arguing over wording and what exactly the law means in different situations.
The cases that caused the “disagreeable” (most polite phrases I can think of) changes to Miranda protections happened only in the past few decades.
It’s still preposterous that the system, which is constitutionally pretty obviously slanted against the government, is so eager to find loopholes in protections for people to the advantage of the government.
I watched this video a few years ago. You can tell its age, but I found it very enlighting. In it a lawyer explains why you should never talk to the police even if you’re innocent:
I was going to link that but you already got it covered!
I read this guy’s book, “You have the right to remain innocent”. Definitely reinforced my ACAB inclinations.
My father-in-law is a defense attorney for juveniles, he always said that the best thing to say is " I understand you guys are just doing your jobs, and I really would like to cooperate, but to do so I need a lawyer present".
Otherwise they can basically classify you as a combative witness, or claim that you are interfering with an ongoing investigation.
By saying that you really want to help, it puts the imperative of wasting time on their end. If you guys need the information that bad, you should be rushing to get some representation here as fast as possible.
Its kinda bullshit that to get proper treatment people need to know a bunch of little phrases to throw out like a secret password. Fuck cops for real
True, but, that’s kind of something you have to do for anyone in really any position of authority generally.
ACAB
The money should come from police department retirement money
It should come from malpractice insurance police officers should be required to have.
Bad cops will weed themselves out of the system, when they can’t afford the premiums, if they continue having incident after incident where they are responsible for damages.
Good cops won’t have to worry about high premiums or negative sentiment from the public about bad cops. You’d probably see cops clamoring to wear body cams to back their stories up if they were actually held accountable for their transgressions.
I think it should come from the union, and directly from the pensions.
Why?
This is about changing culture. It’s not one bad cop in isolation; this is a system of bad cops in league.
If a 30 year officer is hiring having their ability to retire threatened by a rookie cops behavior, that sr. officer WILL not be accepting any bullshit from the rookie.
If you want to change the culture it has to come from within the institution and their needs to be a forcing function to do so.
I agree with the sentiment but then we get into the moral issues of collective punishment. I’d rather the individuals at fault suffer the financial hardships along with anyone who tries to help them cover it up.
Punishing the entire group incentivizes the entire group to help hide it.
The money should come from municipal funds. What’s that? Can’t afford parks and other basic services anymore? Too bad, maybe you should pay attention and vote.
Full stop. Never ever talk to the police under any circumstances.
It’s my turn to share it again! The most important video for any American to watch:
Is it Shut The Fuck Up Friday already!?
Every day is Shut The Fuck Up Friday!
Also noteworthy for visitors to the U.S.: The police are allowed to lie to you.
The police are trained to lie to you.
They are not allowed to lie in court, under oath… but they will anyway. To protect their illegal searches, their planted evidence, their bullying and excessive force, or just to save another cop they don’t even like! It’s called “the Blue Wall” and they will kill you or send you to prison to defend their right to be above the law…
Not only will they lie to you, they will tell you that lying to them is also a crime. Cops are not your friend.
The police are allowed to lie to you.
The pig is allowed to lie to you pretty much everywhere.
They can lie to you here or there.
They can lie to you anywhere.
The police are allowed to lie to you.
They’re also allowed to just be flat-out wrong about stuff. Like, for example, the law. You’d think as enforcers of the law they would be legally required to actually know the law, but that’s a big nope.
But if they’re corrupt and don’t care about your rights, then that’s more reason to fear them. They threatened to kill his dog, that’s what broke him. And they probably would have.
“Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law,”
Used AGAINST you, not FOR you. No attorney has ever said, “I’m so glad my client spoke to the police.”
Never speak to the cops without an attorney.
So what you’re saying is a simple law proposal of “you cannot ask questions without a lawyer present. Any interview done without legal representation is illegal and inadmissible.” Would do wonders for civil rights?
They’ll just have an in-house “lawyer” present in the room. Boom, law complied with, abuse continues.
See, this is why I’m not writing the full text of the law right here. That would be up to legal experts. I figured “The official legal representation of the person being interviewed” would have been a given, but here we are…
Damn. Why’d it have to be the IE?
It’s everywhere, this is just the one that made the news this week.
I felt this. IE represent
Ayyy! I was hoping to find my IE Lemmy users .
There are tens of us!