I'm sure Himan and Gottlieb will do just fine.
Posted on 03/05/2008 3:21:34 AM PST by abb
2 in lacrosse case quit police force
Principal investigators in the case have resigned, the Durham police chief says
Stanley B. Chambers Jr., Staff Writer
DURHAM - Sgt. Mark Gottlieb and Investigator Benjamin Himan, the Durham Police Department's principal investigators in the Duke lacrosse case, have both left the department in the past several weeks, Chief Jose L. Lopez said Tuesday.
Gottlieb, who joined the department in 1992, had contemplated leaving for a few months, Lopez said. "I did not ask him to leave," Lopez said. "I wasn't looking for his resignation."
Lopez said Himan, a Durham officer since 2002, resigned unexpectedly in mid-February for what Lopez termed personal reasons.
Gottlieb was transferred from investigations to uniformed patrol in November. Police said the change was part of normal department restructuring.
Gottlieb and Himan were criticized for failing to question discrepancies in the story of Crystal Gail Mangum, who accused the lacrosse players of gang-raping her at a team party in March 2006. The players were cleared of all charges and declared innocent by North Carolina's attorney general last year.
Defense lawyers have alleged that Gottlieb fabricated evidence to bolster Mangum's identification of the three charged players. When Gottlieb and Himan first interviewed Mangum in March 2006, she gave vague descriptions of the three men who allegedly assaulted her, as recorded in Himan's notes: "white male, short, red cheeks fluffy hair chubby face, brn"; "Heavy set short haircut 260-270 [pounds]," and "Chubby."
None of Himan's notes came close to matching Collin Finnerty, who is tall, baby-faced and lanky.
Four months later, Gottlieb typed up his account of the interview, giving spot-on descriptions of the three indicted players, including this description of Finnerty: "W/M, young, blonde hair, baby faced, tall and lean."
Gottlieb also came under fire for focusing on Duke students when he was patrol supervisor in a district that included Duke University.
The lacrosse case fell apart amid allegations by defense lawyers that Gottlieb, Himan, former District Attorney Mike Nifong and others engaged in misconduct, used improper procedure in a photo lineup and fabricated evidence. They are among the key points of vulnerability for the city of Durham in its defense of a federal civil rights lawsuit brought by the exonerated defendants against the city, Nifong, Gottlieb, Himan and other officials. Gottlieb and Himan will still be defended by the city in the suit.
Both former officers have filed separate motions to be dismissed from the suit. Gottlieb's motion, like the city's, argues that Nifong, now disbarred for his misconduct in the lacrosse case, ran the investigation. Gottlieb's motion also stated that he should have immunity from civil liability, even if he "engaged in conduct that somehow violated plaintiffs' constitutional rights."
(Staff writer Joseph Neff contributed to this report.)
stan.chambers@newsobserver.com or (919) 956-2426
ping
They should do time if they made stuff up. Awful people who dishonored the public trust.
They’ll probably move on to other departments and carry on their crooked ways.
bump
I’m betting Hillary hired them with a raise. Her kind of people!
I don’t think police officers are immune from civil suits when they act with “actual malice”. The koppers can’t be sued for an honest mistake, but Gottlieb’s actions seem to constitute an intentional effort to frame the Duke students.
The police department and city would go a long way in distanting themselves from these officers if they used departmental hearings to discipline them. They seem to be saying that the officers did nothing wrong, and hope to use that as the basis for their defense in the civil suit.
Good luck with that.
No reason to believe these two weren’t involved in the exotic dancer execution cases post Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s manoogian mansion party.
Just a thought...
Hard to believe they weren’t fired long ago.
Well, well! Was justice going to be served and these guys got a whiff of what they were headed for?
Isn't that special? Fry this bast@rd!
Why is it that “the law” always assumes they’re above the law?
Gottlieb, who joined the department in 1992, had contemplated leaving for a few months, Lopez said. “I did not ask him to leave,” Lopez said. “I wasn’t looking for his resignation.”
Lopez seems that he likes & supports corruption ....
Because most of the time they are.
Why doesn’t the Justice Department investigate a police department, some of whose officers, acting under color of law, deliberately attempted to frame innocent defendants?
Why doesn’t the Justice Department investigate the several judges and the DA whose conduct in this case seems extremely questionable? (partners in the frame-up?)
Why doesn’t the Justice Department investigate a university which violated federal FERPA laws?
Why doesn’t Congress—never mind, they’re too busy investigating baseball.
Quitting? He should be in prison! What an outrage. There will be no justice for the scumbag who deliberately falsified statements and tried to destroy innocent lives. And then we have to hear from Obama and the rest of the far left that it’s Bush who threatens our rights and liberties. What a joke.
Hate to ask, but what would be their ethnicities?
Both of them white.
Quitting the police department will not remove them from the lawsuit target. They have not suffered enough.
Damn good questions, all.
Double penalty!
Bad cops remind me of the pigs in “ANIMAL FARM”.
It has been said that the sheepdog is only a degree away from the wolf and in his nature is too easily tempted to devour the sheep.
Further explaining why the sheep need to be armed.
...a few rambling thoughts to accompany my morning coffee.
They are very different individuals as concerns this case:
1. Gottlieb: Clearly made up evidence, had been found in the past to be singling out and targeting Duke students. His case shows why his prior behavior should been punished by far more than a transfer.
2. Himan: Was an investigator of just a couple of months. The AG’s office picked him to help with their investigation that let to the AG describing the accused both specifically and broadly defined as innocent. I would not say Himan’s hands are completely clean, but his behavior was not in the league of Gottlieb.
I'm sure Himan and Gottlieb will do just fine.
Well, perhaps we now know at least two in the department who were using her services and protecting her.
These guys might want to check out USC§ 1981.
Subpart (a) states:
All persons within the jurisdiction of the United States shall have the same right in every State and Territory to make and enforce contracts, to sue, be parties, give evidence, and to the full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of persons and property as is enjoyed by white citizens, and shall be subject to like punishment, pains, penalties, taxes, licenses, and exactions of every kind, and to no other.
And subpart(c) The rights protected by this section are protected against impairment by nongovernmental discrimination and impairment under color of State law.
And when they get to § 1983, they ought to pucker up.
Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress, except that in any action brought against a judicial officer for an act or omission taken in such officer’s judicial capacity, injunctive relief shall not be granted unless a declaratory decree was violated or declaratory relief was unavailable.
Thanks for the clarification. Good info...
Oh man, can’t wait for your take on this!
But the Duke and Durham police redeemed themselves earlier this week when they rushed off into the night to investigate a report of possible drug use and found an aspirin. Whether it was full strength aspirin or not was not stated and surprisingly no arrests were made.
My guess is that the department is not paying the legal fees for the two officers, but that have offered to support the contention that they did nothing wrong because any other statement would prejudice the case against the officers and everyone else in the law suit.
Did they quit or take retirement. You can be darn sure they want that pension
However, he is an absolute wizard compared to Chiefette Bully, of Detroit. The problem is, that when you get these Affirmative Action weasels running the cop show, they cannot control their people ... people who know how and why they got the job and thus lose repspect ... and fear ...of them.
good find, thanks
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