New York undercover police officers filmed themselves framing four men in a drug case. The films shows that brothers Jose Colon and Maximo Colon had no contact with the officers despite their sworn statements that the men sold them drugs. The Colon brothers were ruined over the six months, it took to clear their names and are now suing.
The surveillance camera shows that the police account was false. It does how the officers dancing on the street before spontaneously arresting the men. The men were strip searched and, when they were repeatedly asked about why they were being charged, the police simply did not answer. The prosecutors later admitted that the arrested men obviously did not commit any crime.
In the meantime, the Colons lost their business and savings while two of the officers were put on “modified” duty — that must mean no cameras.
This is truly horrific behavior. Misusing law enforcement power to randomly arrest people shows contempt not only for the innocent but for one’s own profession. The power to arrest should be used with the utmost care. It does seem that be it “terroism” or failure to properly mow your lawn the police and judicial system are out of control. I have to believe this is, in part, a result of the police state policies advocated by the cheneybush administration.
Law enforcement needs to show pride in the invaluable work they do and follow the rule of law. To do otherwise is a disgrace to fellow officers working to do their best in a difficult job. It results in untold grief to everyone involved and it is expensive to citizens who end up paying the tab for false arrests and prosecutions.