Perhaps you've heard about a scenario....
where someone is casually and innocently walking down the street or driving down the road, when they all of a sudden come across a situation unfolding between the state and some other party.
Sometimes, people will grab their phones and start filming the situation and often times when they do this, the police will get angry and turn their attention toward trying to intimidate them, insisting that they are attempting to obstruct justice with their actions.
Because the police care a lot about the obstruction of justice...
Or do they?
It wasn't that long ago that it was revealed that an officer with the San Diego police department had given false testimony (lied) multiple times, in a case that involved a homeless man.
It was discovered that he was lying under oath after body camera footage revealed the truth about the situation. It was an online news organization, the Voice of San Diego, that allegedly outed the truth after it obtained the camera footage.
maybe he was just confused...
After the footage came to light demonstrating that the officer had lied, the City Attorney's office sought to remove the conviction that the homeless man, (Tony Diaz) had received and dismiss his ticket.
The victim's attorney has said that she wants to see the officer charged with perjury
She warned that it could be used by the police to harass and criminalize the simple act of being homeless.
Could there be people right now behind bars or who have had to pay fines previously or do community service, because this officer thought he had a right to lie under oath? The DA's office still hasn't taken the case to court.
That officer in question has been with the department for several years and the alleged homeless man took to launching an internal affairs complaint against him. According to reports from last summer, the officer had been working on the SDPD SWAT team.
Diaz also isn't the first person to feel like they've been wrongly targeted in this way by the police in that community. And would you be surprised to find out that the same officer has been involved in other altercations that bring the department into a negative light?
Like last year, after the city had to pay thousands in a case that involved another homeless man (Zack Green) who claimed (and sued) the same officer involved in Diaz's case, suggesting the officer had engaged in harassment and improper arrests.
Maybe the officer did get his facts confused when he was on trial discussing details over the arrest of Diaz. And maybe he has an issue with maintaining a professional demeanor when interacting with members of the public? If he has a habit of harassing the homeless in his community, then perhaps he is in the wrong line of work.
Pics:
pixabay
infocivic.ro
imgflip.com
Sources:
https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topics/public-safety/body-cam-footage-shows-cop-gave-false-testimony-in-homeless-case/
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/sd-me-diaz-ruling-20170902-story.html
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-me-sleeping-ordinance-20170808-story.html
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/watchdog/sd-me-homeless-lawsuit-20170213-story.html
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