By Carlos Miller
For the second time in less than a month, a police officer was convicted from evidence obtained from a videotape.
The first officer to be convicted was New York City Police Officer Patrick Pogan, who would never have stood trial had it not been for a video posted on Youtube showing him body slamming a bicyclist before charging him with assault on an officer.
The second officer to be convicted was Ottawa Hills (Ohio) Police Officer Thomas White, who shot a motorcyclist in the back after a traffic stop, permanently paralyzing the 24-year-old man.
The video from the dash cam shows that the motorcyclist, Michael McCloskey, appeared to be complying and was most definitely not a threat to White.
However, White stated that he feared for his life because he believed McCloskey was reaching for a gun.
Had it not been for the video, the jury would most likely have believed him.
Pogan was convicted in late April. White was convicted last week.
Next month, former Bay Area Rapid Transit Police Officer Johannes Mehserle will stand trial for shooting an unarmed man in the back in an incident caught on citizen video.
He also would most likely not be facing trial had it not been for the video tape.
It is no wonder why the Maryland State Police Department went after Anthony Graber so hard.
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20 responses so far ↓
1 Michaelk42 // May 20, 2010 at 10:15 PM
Pogan is scheduled to be sentenced June 23rd. I’m waiting to see if he actually gets a substantive punishment at that time.
Michaelk42´s last blog ..Well, you’re not a good one, AWB
2 Dustin // May 20, 2010 at 10:20 PM
I’m almost tempted to buy a cheap video camera to keep in my car with the rise in thug cops committing these crimes.
3 Tom Joad // May 21, 2010 at 12:38 AM
Perhaps I have become overly paranoid, but I have a dash-cam in my vehicle and a video cam on my camera bag in addition to my DSLR because of past incidence of threats of arrest by local PD. IMHO you can never have too much video/documentation.
4 Dustin // May 21, 2010 at 12:44 AM
good idea on the dash cam, but I’d be nervous about it getting more attention from potential thieves when parked.
5 Boondoggie // May 21, 2010 at 4:59 AM
The real question is why jurors still assign more credibility to cops than other witnesses. Has anyone seen a controversial case lately where the video exonerated the cop?
6 nuitnoel // May 21, 2010 at 11:07 AM
I’m asking for some advice based on a law enforcement officer’s lying on a criminal complaint against someone. The charging document is false and can be proven. The law enforcement agent signed the document claiming it was true. There is significant evidence that the report was false.
How does someone file a complaint? Is an attorney needed?
7 Nicholas // May 21, 2010 at 1:06 PM
The way I understand it… It’s better to have a lawyer prepare the paperwork for you as it will protect you from reprisals. You can also request the complaint forms at the station but never go in alone. You can call and ask that the forms be mailed to you (get a PO Box). Not much will be done unless you sue. If you just file a complaint they are supposed to “investigate” but the complaint will go in their file and follow them wherever the cop goes. You can also file your complaint with the Department of Justice.
Google search. That’s how I got the above possibly incorrect info.
8 Rance // May 21, 2010 at 4:30 PM
I’m a little disappointed they only convicted him of felonious assault and firearm specification, instead of attempted murder. Disappointed, but not surprised.
9 Rusty Carr // May 21, 2010 at 5:50 PM
Me too Rance, but as long as its a felony he’s done as an LEO, that’s gotta be a win for the good people.
10 John Howard // May 21, 2010 at 7:30 PM
I know I can’t make out what the cop is saying, due to the siren wailing. I doubt the biker could either.
11 Jon Quimbly // May 22, 2010 at 12:53 AM
The time between the cop stopping the car and shooting the biker in the back was about eight seconds. If the cop said anything it was unintelligible, and the closest biker looked like he was still gawking at the two cop cars.
With full lights on the biker, and despite the crappy dashcam resolution, you can pretty clearly see that the biker’s left hand was still on the chopper’s left handgrip when he jerked and fell from being shot.
The cop is always to the *left* of the dashcam … so he must’ve had a clearer view of the biker’s left hand … am I right? He should have been able to see what was the biker was doing.
If I understood the defense attorney’s blather, what the biker was doing with his left hand was key to the defense. The biker’s right had was visible most of the time.
Wild west cop thought he could shoot first and ask questions afterward.
12 Rusty Carr // May 22, 2010 at 1:17 AM
And if the jury buys his defense that’s exactly what the situation will be.
13 Rance // May 22, 2010 at 1:58 AM
Yet they didn’t. He was convicted
14 TGAP Dad // May 22, 2010 at 10:31 AM
I used to attend the University of Toledo, which is adjacent to Ottawa Hills, where this incident took place. Ottawa Hills is a ritzy, and VERY snobby town completely surrounded by Toledo proper. They weren’t the very rich, just wealthy enough to feel superior to everyone else. Kind of an angry, jealous rich.
Ottawa Hills cops have been famous for decades for harrassing any outsiders.
In my day, they seemed to take a disproportionate interest in students jogging through their town, and hundreds of them were ticketed for violating their jogging ordinances. (Yes, they had jogging ordinances!) Joggers were required to have reflective surfaces on the front and back of their shoes, arms, legs, and torsos. Joggers were restricted to the streets only, and only in the oncoming traffic lanes, were required to stop at every intersection before proceeding, etc. These prdinances were selectively enforced primarily on students, as were others involving noise, traffic safety, etc. Suffice it to say that I’m not too surprised to hear of an incident like this in Ottawa Hills. In a place like this, two guys riding Harleys at 2:00 in the morning are certainly going to stand out like axle grease on a bagel.
15 Scott Smith // May 22, 2010 at 12:48 PM
I’m amazed that the cops didn’t try to suppress the video tape evidence. That seems to be SOP in cases like this.
16 Nuitnoel // May 22, 2010 at 5:06 PM
How do you sue? What are the grounds of a suit? Malicious prosecution? Help?
17 Rob8 // May 31, 2010 at 8:48 AM
Life in gaol for that. Disgusting if the pig gets anything less.
18 ericvogelphoto // Jun 25, 2010 at 10:37 AM
How come I can not find any information on Pogan’s sentence which supposedly happened 2 days ago?
19 Michaelk42 // Jun 25, 2010 at 11:55 PM
BOOM:
http://iminurfortkillingurdudes.blogspot.com/2010/06/pogan-sentencing-delayed.html
Set to appear next on July 14 for sentencing, WebCrims doesn’t say why but I assume just from the court having so many cases to deal with. It took several appearances even to get to trial, so I’m not surprised.
Michaelk42 recently posted..Pogan sentencing, delayed
20 Rance // Jun 26, 2010 at 1:08 AM
Thanks for this Michael. I was looking for that info earlier today, but got sidetracked. Much appreciated!
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