Fontana pays nearly $900,000 for ‘psychological torture’ inflicted by police to get false confession
Fontana pays nearly $900,000 for ‘psychological torture’ inflicted by police to get false confession
Detectives grilled Thomas Perez Jr. for 17 hours, deprived him of medications and threatened to have his dog killed if he didn’t confess to killing his father, who was actually alive.
According to court records, detectives told Perez that his father was dead, that they had recovered his body and it now “wore a toe tag at the morgue.” They said they had evidence that Perez killed his father and that he should just admit it, records show.
Perez insisted he didn’t remember killing anyone, but detectives allegedly told him that the human mind often tries to suppress troubling memories.
At one point during the interrogation, the investigators even threatened to have his pet Labrador Retriever, Margosha, euthanized as a stray, and brought the dog into the room so he could say goodbye. “OK? Your dog’s now gone, forget about it,” said an investigator.
Court Decision (PDF)
Generally, qualified immunity protects law enforcement officers unless they violate clearly established law arising from a case with nearly identical facts
How are laws supposed to progress? Especially if almost all cases are settled instead of brought before a jury?
Its a real catch-22 engineered by SCOTUS to do just that, I believe. The number of cases that receive QI where the judge regretted that the way it works results in a finding that "reasonable" officers wouldn't know just boils my blood.
Thank police unions and the justice system for making victims think settling is their best way forward. Fear of getting no justice at all after what they've been through is a powerful deterrent. That's why I am glad when a well funded activist organization get behind victims (or are themselves the victim) and take it to trial.
I would be hard pressed not to accept a settlement in the neighborhood of a million dollars, as things are so effed up for workers in this economy and that would set me up for life invested properly.
The police run on quota, not justice.
Somebody pulled that shit with the wrong person, and they'll have a murder. You don't fucking threaten someone's dog.
There it go your taxes guys ! Don’t expect much this year in Fontana I guess
Jesus, that's hard to read. I'm shocked the police didn't take his dog out themselves and blame Perez for doing it.
ACAB