Did you know that Internal Affairs, also
known as the Professional Standards Unit, only investigate and punish officers
who are not part of their “Good Ole Boy” network?
Their supposed only purpose is to discover the
TRUTH about an incident/complaint involving an officer. But they actually work to protect their Good
Ole Boy” buddies and punish anyone who questions what they do. It is absolutely wrong but exactly what takes
place in these so-called internal investigations performed by the so-called
professional standards unit.
“Archangels” has learned that some agencies
actually place investigators with credibility issues in these IA units. These
investigators have such a problem telling the truth that they are no longer
allowed to testify in court. What? Can't testify in court, but they can conduct
an internal affairs investigation? Do
you see the correlation there?
Truthfulness is not a requirement to investigate and cover-up an officer
involved crime or act of misconduct or to punish someone who is innocent.
In one case that “Archangels” investigated in Indian
River County there were four deputies that claimed under oath and in writing
that they properly ran the license plate of one of our DAVID (Drivers and
Vehicle Information Databank) case victims. It would violate criminal and civil law and
their own department rules to improperly enter that databanks. They actually stated they must have been
patrolling the Sheriff's Office parking lot and observed a suspicious car and
ran the tag. That's right, four
different deputies, four separate occasions and the Lieutenant that took those
statements was the same person. Wow,
what are the chances of that happening?
A written request to the Department of Highway
Safety and Motor Vehicles proved that they actually ran the young lady by NAME
and not license plate number. That means they LIED under oath. When “Archangels” reported it to IA they
didn't do a thing about it. So ladies
and gentlemen that means not only does the Professional Standards Unit
condone lying they also lie themselves. Sadly, the deputies that lied,
along with the Lieutenant that allowed them to lie still work there. And the State Attorney will use them as
credible witnesses to prosecute you in court.
Isn't it comforting to know that there are deputies working in Indian
River County that lie and that it is allowed?
Now let us make this clearer, the situation is
much worse than just the four and not isolated to Indian River County. “Archangels”
found this to occur in a number of other police agencies, which we will discuss
on a later date.
These four could have been caught in the lie
by their own IA investigator, if he did his job correctly. Remember, we said in the last post to verify
and validate what people say, before accepting it as truth. So, what is it? Does the investigator work for the good of the
agency and community? Or does he work
for the liars and corrupt officials in the agency? Does the Sheriff condone this behavior? We must take into account that all of these
Sheriffs are elected officials. They get elected by popularity, not necessarily
by the job they actually do. The same goes for their subordinates, if they can
get the boss re-elected, they get protected and advanced in rank.
The answer to this travesty is accountability
and responsibility. If the agency cannot or will not be accountable then maybe
there should be a citizen oversight committee put in place to make sure the
rules are followed at all police agencies. The game playing, lies and
favoritism must stop since the police apparently cannot be trusted to
police themselves.
Many police officers complain of this conduct
all of the time. Many of them say that
are sick and tired of the favoritism exhibited by their administrators. They explain that the punishment meted out
case by case is never the same for the same violation from officer to officer. Even worse is the punishment or banishment of
officers that blow the whistle on the wrongdoing.
The police culture is reminiscent of the old
adage; see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil. It's sad that a police officer cannot
speak out against wrongs being perpetrated by other officers or
an administrator without fear of reprisal. What good is the agency or the officer to the
community when their own house is not clean regardless of who is committing
misconduct? Politics be damned, there is NO Place for it in law enforcement or
the courts.
“Archangels” has shown in past posts along
with supporting documents the cases of injustice perpetrated on a few people on
the Treasure Coast. They are true
stories not figments of our imaginations. We have over 80 years of investigative
experience between us and have no reason to lie or fabricate half-truths. The challenge before us is to help you the
citizens, the police officers and the agencies to self correct before it is
too late. Thank you for your continued
support.
Authored by Ira B.
Robins Salvatore
E. Rastrelli
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