Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

[ineffabelle]

“It is not the obligation of this court to police the police department”*
- Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey A. Manning

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!?

Well I guess the cops are now de-facto dictators, unless you are connected enough to pull strings.



* context: a drunk, off-duty cop pistol whipped someone who he thought might have punched him in a bar.  After driving drunk, mind you, to find the guy.

Comments

[sammhain.livejournal.com]

Nothing new, there's long been a legal precedent supporting the idea that citizen can't hold cops accountable...there was a list of specific cases in disinfo's 50 things you aren't supposed to know

[eating-me.livejournal.com]

i'm not surprised. not even a little bit.

[veronikos.livejournal.com]

I'd need more context, I guess. If the cop is off duty, it really isn't a police department matter. He's a civilian, and could be charged criminally with assault in the second or third degree, driving while intoxicated, and could be held civilly liable for money damages for the victim's injuries. Without any other context, I think what the court is saying is that it is not an administrative tribunal, and that, indeed, is so. The fact that the gun might have been his department gun is relevant administratively, but not criminally, unless there is a specific statute in that state saying otherwise.

y'know ..

[tdaschel.livejournal.com]

i love Pittsburgh, but not *unconditionally* ..