Ride the Lightning
Cybersecurity and Future of Law Practice Blog
by Sharon D. Nelson Esq., President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc.
COPS ALTER DASH-CAM VIDEO TO FRAME DRIVER IN FLORIDA
August 3, 2009
The Blue Wall seems to be holding fast. If a cop does something wrong, the brotherhood protects him. There are exceptions of course, but Hollywood, Florida is not exactly leading the way in police integrity with a story I heard this morning on the Today Show.
Alexandra Torrens-Vilas, 23, parked her car in the left lane of a road when her cat jumped out the driver's window. She was rear-ended by Officer Joel Francisco and admitted that she had been drinking, Ultimately, she faced four charges related to her DUI arrest.
Her defense counsel requested copies of the dash-com video. What they got must have been clumsily edited because they realized immediately that the video had missing parts. Unable to get the missing video from the police, defense counsel finally got it from the state.
Rather than admit that Officer Francisco rear-ended her car, the police from Hollywood concocted a little Hollywood magic to get their colleague off the hook.
According to the tape, Officer Dewey Pressley assumed the role of Hollywood director, saying, "Well, I don't lie and make things up ever because it's wrong, but if I need to bend it a little to protect a cop, I'm gonna." Apparently, his mom never explained to him the precise definition of the word "lie."
Pressley then tells another officer, "I will write the narrative out for you. I will tell you exactly how to word it so you can get him off the hook. You see the angle of her car? You see the way it's like this? As far as I'm concerned, I am going to word it she is in the left-hand lane. We will do a little Walt Disney to protect the cop, because it wouldn't matter because she was drunk anyway."
This scenario apparently fits the "two wrongs make a right" theory.
The same enterprising Mr. Pressley managed to be the officer who administered the Breathalyzer test at the station and, lo and behold, the police report said that her blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit. Now if you think that's coincidental, consider that, when the tape was released, all charges against Torrens-Vilas were dropped. Funny how that works.
Five officers and police personnel have been suspended and their department will likely face a civil lawsuit.
Hey guys, spoliation of evidence is a lie. Pure and simple. Not only is it immoral to screw with the evidence, but your likelihood of getting caught is very high. On the other hand, as the President of a computer forensics company, I'd like to thank you for my continuing job security.
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