Revealed: records show border patrol gave inaccurate testimony about people it jailed. Prosecutors now face ‘embarrassing’ dismissals

US immigration officers made false and misleading statements in their reports about several Los Angeles protesters they arrested during the massive demonstrations that rocked the city in June, according to federal law enforcement files obtained by the Guardian.

The officers’ testimony was cited in at least five cases filed by the US Department of Justice amid the unrest. The justice department has charged at least 26 people with “assaulting” and “impeding” federal officers and other crimes during the protests over immigration raids. Prosecutors, however, have since been forced to dismiss at least eight of those felonies, many of them which relied on officers’ inaccurate reports, court records show.

The justice department has also dismissed at least three felony assault cases it brought against Angelenos accused of interfering with arrests during recent immigration raids, the documents show.

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[–] 26 points 1 year ago (1 child)

When criminals wear badges.

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  • [–] 22 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    False claims made in order detain innocent humans is far to common and we need to do something about it, where is the recourse?

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    It was meant to be in the courts, civil and criminal, and in the most outlandish cases, the FBI and ICC.

    But…that’s not where we’re at. So we have to decide what a new world looks like without these systems to protect us from the system itself.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago*

    They are using it to just delay you. They know it will likely be dismissed but it gets less likely each day. You are still in jail and not protesting in the meantime.

    Every one of these arrests needs to be regarded as kidnapping, same as ICE.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Are you saying the police are making false claims? that's really hard to believe... police are upst... ok I can't keep this up yeah they're all pieces of shit with tiny egos and they would lie to make you pay for a crime you didn't commit

    The problem? qualified immunity!

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    While I can see the need for qualified immunity, the problem is “qualified”. It’s not called “blanket immunity”, so why do they get away with treating it as such? Lying to deprive someone of human rights should not be “qualified”

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  • [–] 16 points 1 year ago

    If the police are making all these false accusations how can you trust ANY claims they make?

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago

    Stop resisting

    /s

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  • 9 comments in c/usa@midwest.social view that post
    [–] 33 points 1 year ago (3 children)

    Lying cops should be turned over to the People

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  • [–] 18 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    Or at the very least, fired, which is unlikely to happen.

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  • [–] 21 points 1 year ago

    So we'll be prosecuting those border patrol agents any day now, right?

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago

    If there are no consequences for cops lying then it will keep getting worse.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago

    And then those perjurers were convicted and sentenced, right?

    . . . Right?

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  • [–] 7 points 1 year ago (1 child)
    • Out of nine “assault” and “impeding” felony cases the justice department filed immediately after the start of the protests and promoted by the attorney general, Pam Bondi, prosecutors dismissed seven of them soon after filing the charges.

    • In reports that led to the detention and prosecution of at least five demonstrators, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents made false statements about the sequence of events and misrepresented incidents captured on video.

    • One DHS agent accused a protester of shoving an officer, when footage appeared to show the opposite: the officer forcefully pushed the protester.

    • One indictment named the wrong defendant, a stunning error that has jeopardized one of the government’s most high-profile cases.

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  • 7 comments in c/thepoliceproblem@lemmy.world view that post
    [–] [S] 23 points 1 year ago

    Don't hold your breath for those prosecutions of border patrol. Fash protects fash.

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  • [–] 15 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Law enforcement lied. I am shook. /s

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  • [–] [S] 6 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

    Once upon a time that would have been my sincere reaction. It's a shame that I had to learn police have been shitting on their own integrity pretty much since their inception.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Prosecutors, however, have since been forced to dismiss at least eight of those felonies, many of them which relied on officers’ inaccurate reports, court records show.

    “Inaccurate” is a funny way to describe officers breaking the law, violating their oaths, lying to the courts, and attempting to frame these people.

    But in reality, they don’t give a shit about convictions. They almost always simply drop the charges against protestors. The point is to make them afraid, get them off the street, and kill their momentum. And this is exactly what their leadership has instructed them to do.

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago

    the lapd is one of america's most dangerous street gangs

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago

    This would be a good time for those unfamiliar to learn about LA Sheriff gangs. Great reporting in written and podcast form.

    A Tradition of Violence was an investigation into sheriff gangs. Holy crap, it was good.

    Podcast.

    Series of articles.

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  • 5 comments in c/politics@sh.itjust.works view that post
    [–] 21 points 1 year ago

    No one will be punished for this.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 year ago (1 child)
  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    False arrest is still a thing yeah?

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  • 1 comment in c/california@lemmy.world view that post

    In reports that led to the detention and prosecution of at least five demonstrators, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents made false statements about the sequence of events and misrepresented incidents captured on video.

    One DHS agent accused a protester of shoving an officer, when footage appeared to show the opposite: the officer forcefully pushed the protester.

    It's unfortunate that making false statements to the police isn't a crime... oh, wait, it is. So, when will these agents be arrested and charged?

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  • 1 comment in c/theguardian_us@ibbit.at view that post