Posted on 08/04/2020 6:34:23 AM PDT by RandFan
The charges, which grew out of a lethal 2019 raid based on a fraudulent search warrant affidavit, suggest that cops routinely built their cases on lies.
A Harris County, Texas, grand jury has confirmed the criminal charges against six former Houston narcotics officers that District Attorney Kim Ogg announced on July 1, while adding two more counts against one of the defendants. The 17 felony charges include falsification of search warrants, fraudulent reports of drug purchases, and phony overtime claims. The indictments, which were issued on Friday, reflect the shady practices and lax supervision that enabled veteran Houston police officer Gerald Goines to instigate a deadly 2019 raid based on a drug sale that never happened.
All six defendants—three officers, two sergeants, and a lieutenant—worked for the Houston Police Department's Narcotics Division, which according to an internal audit has been plagued for years by sloppy record keeping and loose oversight. "These indictments reinforce our decision to prosecute the graft, greed and corruption in this troubled Houston Police division," Ogg said. "We look forward to presenting all of the evidence in a courtroom to a jury and the people of Harris County."
More details...
(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...
Apparently what’s good for DC is good for Houston. If the FBI, CIA, DOJ et al can do that and worse, the narcs in Texas surely can, too./S?
Any chance Dems have been in charge of Houston for a long time?
Who’s the chief?
I have no idea...
It’s in the article:
—
Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, who initially lauded the officers who killed Tuttle and Nicholas as “heroes” while posthumously tarring the couple as dangerous drug dealers, has said the scandalous raid did not suggest a “systemic” problem within the Narcotics Division. These charges, combined with the audit results, clearly show he was wrong.
Time for some higher ups to face the consequences. Take down some of them and maybe curb some of this. They are put in positions of responsibility they should feel the heat for what their foot soldiers do.
Would you support banning ‘no-knock’ raids? I think that’s what Rand Paul to do in the police reform bill.
I favor a Captial Murder charge with a Death Penalty at the other end of the process. That might set an example, although it didn’t really seem to impact police corruption in New Orleans. (Antoinette Renee Frank, Len Davis, James Gill, Rogers LaCaze). LaCaze eventally beat the death penalty and got off with a light sentence of Life without Parole. So now New Orleans is down to three cops on death row, instead of 4.
I expect the FR bootlickers to show up soon to flame me. Have fun.
“Why are you guys (these bad cops) in Vice?”
“Because that’s where the money is.”
—with apologies to bank robber Willie Sutton.
Close to it. They should be subject to a much higher thresh-hold of approval than they are now, at least in some jurisdictions.
If they are worried about the evidence being flushed, cut off the water. If there is little enough that the water in the toilet tank can take care of it all, there isn't enough to justify a no-knock raid.
Much of this stuff could, and would, have been swept under the rug, even 10 years ago.
But now, with so much video and cell phone evidence in the data bases... investigators can go back years to see if your cell phone was where you said it was...
These guys got lazy and cut a lot of corners, and took a lot of stuff they should not have, because they thought they were above the law.
And they were above the law, until two innocent people were killed because they did not follow the rules.
I do not have much sympathy for them.
Keeping the same people in narcotics, for their entire career, is insanely stupid. It is asking for corruption.
Indeed even Dirty Harry didn’t go by all the rules.
Gerald Goines is a real piece of work. The article left out some of the more lurid details. Dennis Tuttle and his wife, Rhogena Nicholas were white. The police shot them and their dog. Gerald Goines’ “confidential informant,” who he said bought heroin at the home is a prostitute that Goines had sex with. They found loose drugs and an unregistered gun in Goines’ car.
Interesting ... thanks for the additional info.
They are too busy with the George Floyd case.
Goines and Floyd had crossed paths before =>
>>>>>>>>>
“Harris County DA probing disgraced ex-cop’s 2004 arrest of George Floyd”
June 13, 2020
Exactly. The money used to be in robbing banks which had huge amounts of currency on hand. Now for large amounts of currency AND saleable items, drugs is the source. Recall the French Connection case? Notice how many prosecutions there were?? One, one pled. Why, because the drugs were stolen from the police evidence room! The NYPD SIU was hopelessly corrupt, some went to jail, some were assassinate over the years. One writer went on to speculate that while the SIU were Princes of the City, BNDD was the kings because the corruption did not end at the NYPD. A corruption probe in the 60s partly led to the organization being recast first as ODALE and then DEA. This is all ancient history now but the point made about the money is as appropriate today as it was in the 60s and 70s.
That’s a hard call, but yes. I don’t think no knock raids were what the founders intended.
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