Although video evidence recorded by security cameras is a common factor in the arrest and prosecution of suspected criminals, recently several cases have shown that this evidence works both ways. This type of recorded footage has also been very useful in a surprising application,
as evidence against law enforcement officers accused of misconduct or of lying on the witness stand.
According to her grand jury testimony, a forty one year old New York detective said that she was played the pivotal role in a drug bust and arrest in the Bronx, early in 2007. The policewoman's account of the bust began with her and her partner leaving their van and entering an apartment building through a broken door to follow two men who they suspected had two large boxes of marijuana. According to the detective, she and her partner went to the fourth floor searching for the two men, then went to the fifth floor when they heard one of the suspects jingling keys as they entered an apartment. She said that next they arrested the suspects and she personally recovered two boxes with a total of thirty three pounds of marijuana.
The case was progressing smoothly for the two detectives until one or more of the defendants filed a complaint with the Civilian Complaint Review Board. After the complaint was filed, the district attorney's office found and began to review footage that was recorded by the apartment building's surveillance camera system. They were able to determine that the two detectives made their way to the fifth floor separately minutes apart from each other and that other officers that were part of the police team making the arrest that she was with actually confisacted the boxes of marijuana, she did not capture the drugs on her own. These events and others shown on the video footage starkly contradicted her grand jury testimony according to Bronx district attorney Robert T. Johnson.
Although these may seem like minor discrepancies, it's important to note that not all of the contradictory elements of the security camera video have been released to the public. District attorney Johnson said: "Untruthful testimony, particularly from those who are entrusted to enforce the law, strikes at the very heart of our system of justice and seriously erodes public confidence in our courts. Hopefully this indictment, the second in the last 16 months in which a Police Officer has been charged with perjury, will reinforce the message that we have zero tolerance for false testimony by anyone, including members of law enforcement." The misdemeanor and felony charges were dropped against the marijuana suspects. The detective has been arrested and will soon face charges of three counts of perjury, each carrying a maximum sentence of seven years in prison.
The policewoman's defense attorney said that the inconsistencies in her testimony were "honest mistakes". But it's important to remember that when a police officer makes "honest mistakes" while testifying in criminal cases, these mistakes can can get innocent people sent to prison. Police officers have a tremendous amount of power over common citizens and should absolutely be held accountable when it comes to telling the truth. Without the cameras to point out the detective's "mistakes" we would have never known, it's a good thing that there were these witnesses that never lie.
