There is a controversy in Durham where Police Chief Jose Lopez is accused of making a vile statement about a public defender. Lopez allegedly stated that the public defender deserved to be shot in a crime because he representing accused criminals. If true, Lopez would appear to not only agree with Dick in Henry IV that “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
The alleged statement was disclosed in an equal-employment complaint against the city by Durham assistant police chief, Winslow Forbes. Forbes has accused Lopez of mistreatment of black officers.
The alleged comment came on July 2 in relation to a late-June shooting in Durham. According to Forbes, the chief told subordinates he intended to say all the recent shooting victims were black and had been involved in criminal activity. When a subordinate noted that the lawyer was not involved in criminal activity, Lopez is quoted as saying that the lawyer deserved to get shot because he was a public defender.
A review is under way. Regrettably, the view expressed in the statement is all too familiar to criminal defense attorneys. People often express such hatred for attorneys without thinking of what it would be like if police could simply decide guilt or the many cases where innocent men or women were accused of crime. It is a particularly dangerous view however when held by a Chief of Police if the allegation is proven correct.
If verified, what should be the punished for such a statement by a police chief in your view?
Source: Herald Sun
u need links we can call and write too
He needs a sixth stripe on his sleeves. One day the public defender will be a civil rights lawyer and will have the opCay in his sights in federal court.
This disgusting man needs to be fired, sent back to my first grade classroom where I will teach him how to behave better. He may also learn that it is possible (irony intended) for a group of people, albeit young ones in this case, to get along well regardless of the color of their skin. My hat off to all public defenders who take on this kind of scum.
He should be fired, and never again be allowed to work in law enforcement, security work, or anything that involves a gun.
he needs to be taught the valuable lesson of why there is a need for defense lawyers. to bad there is no legal way to teach him. like having him set up to take the fall for a crime he knows he didnt commit but the cops and others are framing him for anyway.
im sure that would change his feelings about defense lawyers in a minute. history has proven time and again that people hate defense lawyers until they or a close family member needs one. and then suddenly they understand the reality of defense lawyers smfh
Durham where? North Carolina, New Hampshire, or someplace else altogether?
what rank is this guy? five gold stripes with five gold stars as sleeve insignia? looks like he deserves the bellamy salute.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellamy_salute
Even though Durham Police Chief Jose Lopez is wearing a pretty costume, I’d wager no one has ever accused him of being a professional.
Boy does this chief look like a dickhead in his overblown uniform or what? Five stripes on the sleeves. Big shot. He lives in Durham which is one of the most prejudiced places in the world against Hispanics. They don’t say Hispanic they say friggin Mexicans. So, he one ups himself by denigrating blacks. What a perp.
test
Who hired this guy? A police chief who does not understand the criminal justice system am one who wants to kill his adversaries. Who does he think he is? (insert your own joke here.). He should be fired.
Lets see you catch the bad guys and if you’ve got the proof…. The guy gets convicted…. I’m glad there is at least one public defender that has caught the eye of the police chief…. Now, it time to shake up he administration….
Unfortunately, the Chief’s attitude is one I am all too familiar with. People don’t seem to grasp the idea that everyone should have an attorney. Some defendants are innocent, as the Innocence Project has shown so effectively.
I think the Chief is in the wrong line of work.
How ironic that Dick was a butcher.
Perhaps that should be Lopez’s new profession instead of working LE.
“If verified, what should be the punished for such a statement by a police chief in your view?”
Investigate the Chief for ‘hate crime’. Fed prison for 10 years with plenty of other criminals that are ready to make his acquaintance.
Go ahead and charge Darrel C Carlson with ‘criminal ignorance’ too. Put him in with the Chief as a companion. As a 74 year old, we have his generation to blame for allowing the system to become so broken.
You are responsible for the situation, Darrel, not a victim of it. Making ridiculous generalizations only shows that you’ve got no idea of the reality that faces individuals while incarcerated, why people like John Adams stood-up for those accused of crime, or the basic rights of our nation’s people.
The chief should lose his job if the statement is true. He also needs to lose his job over the false claim that all of the shooting victims were black and involved in criminal activity. Disgusting.
He should lose his job, but he’ll probably be appointed as a judge.
From way back in the “Law Tunnel”, where even the light of the oncoming train is not yet visible, my ” Legally Ignorant Thoughts”.
Criminal Lawyers disgustingly strive, to deceive and tamper with Juries/Justice as they prevent the truth from being known, spin outrageous lies, blame the victims and do everything possible to re-cycle their mad-dog clientele back to pillage and cut a bloody swath thru law abiding citizens.
This is what they choose to do. Not nearly as honorable as “Hit Men”.
Personally for me, they become “good Lawyers” only after death.
That, after 74 years is my reality. Don’t hold your breath waiting for me to lift a finger to save the life of any Criminal Lawyer…….Frankly, Darrel
This police chief doesn’t deserve to be shot, but he does deserve to lose his job because he obviously has no clue as to what his job is.
Another pubic servant at work for himself and his tribe.