Monday, July 18, 2016

The Officers Who Killed Alton Sterling and Philando Castile May Not Be Punished. Here’s Why.

BY CELISA CALACAL JUL 11, 2016 9:06 AM

The deaths of Alton Sterling this week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota have drawn national attention to the killings of black men and women by police officers. And as protests surrounding police brutality continue and the stories of Sterling and Castile remain in the public’s conscience, one of the looming questions is the fate of the officers involved: Will they be punished, at all, for their actions?

The data says most likely not. Despite committing heinous acts while on duty, police officers often receive no punishment, whether from a grand jury or an internal investigation. In fact, 97 percent of police violence cases in 2015 resulted in the officer facing no criminal charges.

In looking at the Baton Rouge Police Department specifically, there are a number of policies and regulations outlined in the BRPD’s police union contract and Louisiana’s police bill of rights that make it difficult for a police officer to be held accountable for actions of misconduct or use of excessive force — even when it results in the death of another person.

The BRPD, which unionized last year, has four policies in place that protect its police officers, two of whom were involved in Sterling’s death. These are the outlined policies, from Check the Police:


  1. Restricts/delays interrogations: Officer interrogations are limited to a “reasonable amount of time,” and allows for officers to take breaks to address “personal needs.”
  2. Gives officers unfair access to information: Any officer who has been interrogated in an investigation is entitled immediate access to a copy of the entire investigation record.
  3. Requires cities pay for misconduct: The city must shoulder the costs of misconduct settlements as well as provide legal defense. The city is also expected to indemnify any officer who is “sued in connection with activities occurring during the course and scope of his employment.”
  4. Erases misconduct records: “Sustained” complaints against an officer are erased after 18 months if no similar complaints are filed within that amount of time. Sustained violations are also expunged after five years. However, the removal of these complaints are subject to public records law.


Louisiana’s police bill of rights contains three similar provisions that ensure officer protection even more. There is a 30-day delay in an officer’s interrogation, during which the officer is meant to “secure representation.” During interrogations, officers are allowed breaks that are not offered to civilians. The vukk [sic] of rights also gives police officers special access to information similar to what is outlined in the BRPD’s union contract.

The police bill of rights has further guidelines on the erasure of misconduct records, in which an officer can have expunged from his personnel file any exonerated or unsubstantiated formal complaints involving domestic violence, criminal battery, and any violation of other ordinances or state statutes. This action can be done if the complaint was made anonymously and the claims were not substantiated within 12 months of the claim being filed. In addition, if any negative comments are made about an officer, the involved officer must sign off on those comments before they are entered in their personnel file.

Read more
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/07/11/3796694/police-contracts-bill-of-rights-alton-sterline-philando-castile/

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