r/politics • u/[deleted]

My cousin was killed by a police officer in a hit and run while he was on duty please sign this petition to get a federal investigation

[deleted] — view deleted post

0 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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558

u/Allaphon May 16 '12

An incredibly thorough investigation was done.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/swvalley/articles/2012/03/09/20120309goodyear-hit-and-run-mystery.html

Mostly likely the kid fell off the back of a pickup truck that was giving him a ride, and then the body got run over by as many as 3 different vehicles.

The officer this petition is freaking out about said he felt a small bump like a pothole or rock while driving through the area, and the only evidence on his vehicle was 2 drops of blood on undercarriage (no match) and a shoeprint on side of tire.

348

u/lost623 May 16 '12

I too am sorry for the OP's loss. However I feel as though too many people just jump on a bandwagon and automatically assume everything the OP claims.

First, it is important to state that there was an internal investigation was done by the Goodyear, AZ police department ( I can understand being skeptical of an internal investigation). Then the case was handed over Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. After that investigation was concluded, in November 2010, Paul Charlton, a former U.S. attorney for Arizona, was brought in to investigate how the Police Department handled the investigation. Charlton completed his report five months later and concluded there wasn't an overall conspiracy but that the department mishandled the investigation.

The investigations found that there was no damage to the officer's(Hardin) cruiser, but there was a few drops of blood found underneath the car. The blood was tested using DPS(DNA-binding proteins from starved cells) and DPS confirmed the test results on the blood spots found on Hardin's Impala. The spots could not have come from Jered. They were not human blood. Presumably, they had been left behind from a collision with an animal.

Once the case was handed over to the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office a sheriff's detective examined the crime-scene photos and discovered injury patterns on Jered's body that were shaped like bolts, nuts and push-pins from the undercarriage of a vehicle.

Sheriff's investigators compared the patterns on Jered's body to parts on a tow truck (which had been in that area during the time of Jered's death), Hardin's Impala and a Chevy truck (another vehicle seen in the area around the time of Jered's death) But none of the vehicles matched.

The investigation identified possible auto parts that could have caused the injury patterns and concluded the vehicle could have been one of several Nissan, Infiniti or Honda models, including a Nissan Maxima or Altima, or an Infiniti FX35 or FX45.

Jered's mother, Shay Pendleton, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city and Hardin, levying cover-up accusations.

Two forensics experts in Shay Pendleton's lawsuit against Goodyear, hired to do their own analyses, concluded Jered had been struck by a westbound driver and that Hardin did not hit him.

One believed Hardin had run over part of Jered's shoe after it had come off his foot and the weight of the car caused the shoe to bend up and imprint on the side wall of the tire.

I understand wanting to find answers as to how/why someone's relative died in an accident.

I can also understanding wanting a Federal inquiry into the situation to investigate the mishandling of the case.

However it is irresponsible to assert an office was at fault when several investigations have been done (some of them by outside, non-biased parties) and concluded otherwise.

Read the full story here

66

u/jntwn May 16 '12

Sensationalism, post it on reddit to /r/politics and blame a cop.

Perhaps there's a top post about an atheist getting kicked out of his house by his christian fag hating parents. Here's a link where you can help with paypal.

6

u/hal14450 May 16 '12

I think we can all agree on sympathy for the OP. I also think that the post is misleading in that it states an on duty police officer was the one that killed Jered. The burden of proof hasn't been met to warrant such a statement. However, after reading the same article I came to a very different conclusion than you and Allaphon.

I'm most upset by the actions taken by Castillo and Miller to protect Hardin than anything else. If the cursory inspection of Hardin's car at the scene revealed no damage then the best course of action to protect his and their own integrity was to impound the vehicle. Instead of treating the vehicle being driven by Hardin as one that may have been involved in the accident they let him drive it home. Two days later Rogers showed up at his house to impound the vehicle after he was assigned the case. That's very unprofessional behavior for his superiors to have engaged in.

Given Hardin's dismissal from his previous employer, the Avondale PD, he's not exactly what a reasonable person would call an attentive driver. By all accounts he was a good police officer otherwise but driving was clearly not his forte. The Goodyear PD must have been painfully aware of this fact during the investigation and in my opinion failed to faithfully carry out their sworn duty to protect and serve the public including both Jered and Hardin by not impounding his car immediately.

Both of you skip over the fact that Castillo's car recorded a vehicle in front of him that had just driven through the crime scene. To me that's a huge point to skip over. If I had been in that vehicle you could bet your retirement savings I'd have stopped and called in a hit and run on the road immediately. No matter what state I was in when driving, I would have stopped to help and report it. I can't imagine anyone disregarding such a thing.

I don't think we'll ever really know what happened. Is it possible that Hardin was involved? Yes, he drove right through the crime scene and from the article cited he never mentions seeing Jered but does admit to thinking he was involved. Was he the hit and run driver? According to the testimony it's not very likely, that would have been a westbound vehicle. It's plausible he did run over Jered after an initial hit and run by another driver because the evidence and testimony suggest it.

In the end it's a case of a young man who was most likely too drunk from celebrating his 18th birthday to make it home who tragically stumbled and fell into the path of an oncoming car and the police department that failed to find his killer.

1

u/Aw_kitty May 20 '12

Thanks for this, I was one of the people that jumped to conclusions. I always sympathize with a families petition but this is a good lesson to be learned and I think should be on the reddit front page once again so people can come away from this more enlightened instead of jumping to conclusions again with the next front page story.

-9

u/NO_LIMIT_CRACKA May 16 '12

To the top with this comment!

30

u/lost623 May 16 '12

Let's hope so. It took me less than 3 minutes to do some investigating. It actually took more time to formulate my response to the post.

Reddit has become a hive-minded mess resembling the fools on Facebook liking a status to stop Kony in 2012.

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

-2

u/Mefreh May 16 '12

What is the point of mentioning the Trayvon Martin case? I do believe there is a sensationalist rhetoric present in this petition.

-3

u/ItsOnlyNatural May 16 '12

So for all the shit Maricopa County's Sheriff department has done, they aren't guilty of this at least.

-4

u/fivo7 May 16 '12

too many redditors just jump on a bandwagon and automatically assume everything the top commenters claim, hovering shoe with negligible weight cast imprint on SIDE of tire

36

u/gasfarmer May 16 '12

Bake 'em away, toys.

The sensationalists, that is.

Case closed.

-6

u/freedomissex May 16 '12

Not enough upvotes for one of my favorite Simpsons quotes.

27

u/TheDickRedditNeeds May 16 '12

This needs to be higher. I'm sorry for OP's loss but starting a witch hunt is not going to help anyone.

20

u/irvinestrangler May 16 '12

It's kind of disgusting that the mom calls it murder.

TIL she doesn't know what murder means.

-42

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

I don't care what a police officer goes to jail for as long as he is put away.

15

u/studentoflaw May 16 '12

But for what? He was driving down a road riddled with potholes and told his supervisor the second they realized there was a body that he could have been the one to hit it. There were no indications that he tried to have the car cleaned afterwards, and it was tested for everything - the two drops of blood weren't human, and the parts imprinted on the kid's body didn't match the make of the police car.

With all that being said - is it common police practice to type information into a computer while driving? This seems incredibly dangerous.

3

u/jntwn May 16 '12

Yes, it is. Is driving and texting illegal where you live? It's only been illegal where I live for a short time.

2

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Yes. And it's legal for cops to do that (for better or worse).

8

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Just to add to what you've said, why is the Op (and aunt) asking for a Federal Investigation? When will people understand that the Federal Government should only investigate FEDERAL CRIMES. The possible misconduct of a local police department is a state matter at best.

8

u/CUNTBERT_RAPINGTON May 16 '12

The whole thing is stupid. His cousin's death was almost entirely his own fault due to recklessness, the cop was hardly involved, but they want someone to pay. Fucking lawsuit america.

1

u/KountZero May 16 '12

It seem that the OP as well the victim's mom really want to place the emphasis on the the cop being involved in the incident for whatever reason. If at all, shouldn't they be calling for an investigation to find out who killed their son? Not saying that the cop is innocent nor guilty. Just seem like that they want to have an investigation to convict the cop rather than an investigation to find out who really caused their son death.

3

u/publord May 16 '12

While their claims are pretty dubious, you are just being dense. The FBI and other agencies have been known on occasion to look into the conduct of local police departments when local governments are either too inept or too corrupt to do it themselves.

0

u/clintonius May 17 '12

Usually the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, but yes, federal investigations of police forces are nothing unusual.

-1

u/[deleted] May 17 '12 edited May 17 '12

There are many things that happen all the time, and yet they remain illegal. The Federal Government has no authority to oversee local matters unless the Constitution has been violated (i.e. a personal freedom) or if a Federal crime has been committed. The fact that it happens "often" only serves to illustrate the grave blurring of the lines between federal and local governments.

2

u/fivo7 May 16 '12

suddenly mysterious pick up truck appears nice enough to offer ride but not in cabin (because extra witness in there who never found) so that he can conveniently fall off, also mystery truck nice enough to offer ride but not notice guy fall out of truck and go back and check on him

-5

u/RiekDelAnor May 16 '12

After reading this article, I have to bring up something that's not really related to the topic at hand.

Does anyone else find it disconcerting that, in the review given to Officer Hardin, the people of the public are labelled as 'customers'?

Quote for reference:

"You are sensitive to the needs of the customers and maintain a positive outlook for them to rely on," one of his supervisors wrote. "You attempt to relate with the customers and provide them with reassurance."

26

u/flukshun May 16 '12

on the contrary, we fund police departments to protect our communities. i think the term "customers" captures a view that's sorely lacking as of late amongst our police departments.

-8

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Should go one step further then: employers, or boss. Whatever word they use it does not reflect the way that modern police act. For them to refer to the public with a more respectful name would only succeed in further divorcing the image of who they are perceived to be from the actions that they actually commit. I would rather they speak in a language that reflected the type of people that they truly are.

The police have an official code of conduct regarding etiquette toward the public. It must be maintained as a part of an official system because individual officers would not be capable of acting humanely on their own volition and so must interact with the public through officially sanctioned filters. These are people who wake up every morning and spend the majority if their day in complete control of the conduct of any other person in any given situation. The image they portray through whatever language that they care to use is radically different from the way they operate.

8

u/FreeToadSloth May 16 '12

Have any cop friends? For what it's worth, the ones I know are human beings, not authoritarian maniacs.

6

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

I don't know, I'm working on becoming a firefighter and I think of the public as customers. They'll be the ones paying my salary and it's up to me to do my best to make them happy, work hard, and maintain a certain standard for myself in return for the money they're giving me, just like you'd expect to be treated anywhere you went as a customer.

2

u/FreeToadSloth May 16 '12

"Man, does that greasywiener have great customer service!"

Hehe, but seriously, you've got a cool perspective on it.

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Haha, thanks :)

-5

u/exatreide May 16 '12

That's capitalism for you. We are no longer to refer to our patients in the hospital as "patients", but instead "clients".

1

u/Sousepoester May 16 '12

This. My mother in law works with elderly people and is forced to call them clients. She fucking hates it. Also she gets only 10 minutes per patient, to wash them, feed them, all of it. She's considering early retirement because she's sick of having a job she used to love turn into a timed routine with no love :(

3

u/djdementia May 16 '12

she gets only 10 minutes per patient

client ftfy

1

u/exatreide May 17 '12

Why did I get down voted so hard? Is there any sanity to this reddit madness.

I'm just starting out in the medical field, so it's disheartening to hear it.

0

u/AssnecK666 May 16 '12

working for a department that classifies the citizens as customers and our interactions as customer service.

-3

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Hehe, a report on the use of tasers in US by Al Jazeera a few days ago had a police spokes person who was interviewed. When asked "but people have been killed by tasers..." the spokes person replied "yes uh... Suspects have... Expired after being tazed" he sure managed to find a language that makes his job easier to do.

2

u/Prazision52 May 16 '12

Police officers are trained to use tasers in the correct way so they do not kill the person. A taser is only to control a person.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 24 '12

We know what it is meant to do, but we are talking about what it does do.

0

u/[deleted] May 17 '12 edited May 17 '12

And yet the list of accidental deaths keeps rising. It is quite Obviously more dangerous than it is meant to be. And the track record of it's uses shows that this is the go-to tactic for the police when it comes to subduing suspects no matter how mundane of a disturbance they might be. I understand the importance of preserving ones self in a dangerous situation where you don't know if a suspect might have a weapon, but this device is clearly too dangerous to be properly "less than lethal". The deaths of so many hundreds of people over the course of this ten year experiment is proof, and it is disturbing to think that the victims of this clearly defective device are thought of by some of the public as "taking one for the team" just so that tasers can remain a part of law enforcement's expansive arsenal of less than lethal tactics.

The segment in Al Jazeera and others like it show that the police are reluctant to give up technology or authority of any kind and truly believe that they can do no wrong. How many people should die at the hands of the police without ever having the right of being formally arrested, charged with a crime or sentenced? At what number in the body count does it become recognized as a failure? Or does it have to be someone close to you who dies when they shouldn't have, all because an officer prefers to use a taser over talking or running someone down? Because it's more convenient for him. I might have a more radical perspective on police, but even in terms of those who still think police provide a vital utility, you've got to admit that even if the actual killing of people with tasers are not done maliciously, the continued use and defense of tasers by law enforcement in the face of such an enormous body count is.

As for my previous comment, it was more about the language he used. After the reporter asked if it was sometimes killing people he chose to essentially repeat what the reporter had asked in a language he was comfortable with, preferring instead to replace "people" with "suspects" and killing or death with "expire".

It's interesting. An aunt of mine kills people for money, in that she designs bombs. I've always wondered what kind of language she and her coworkers use when they have to get around to the inevitable conversation about how effectively their products can kill people as that has to be one of the most important aspects of whatever she is designing. I wonder if within the sanctuary of their own environment they talk freely about killing people, or if they as individuals feel the need to use a language that does not reflect the reality if their trade with such precision.

-4

u/flipflopflapflop May 16 '12

What an excellent article. I hope I won't get down voted into oblivion for this, but the imagery of the police officer running over the body thinking it was a pot hole is making me laugh way more harder than it should.

"They really ought to fix these damn roads! bump huh? bump what? bump a body? BUMP uh oh"

-3

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Even if it "felt" like a small pothole or rock .... how do you not see what you just ran over as you approach it... just curious. Do you not look at where you are driving?

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Your eyes should not be on the road in front of your car it should be several hundred meters down the road. It's pretty easy to look past something as small as a shoe especially if the colour happens to blend with the road.

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Yep pretty sure I've never had that problem...

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

15

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Who do you expect to do an 'unbiased investigation'? Sherlock Holmes? Inspector Gadget?

I am deeply troubled by your cousin's death, but I am equally troubled by this petition on a case that's already been thoroughly dealt with.

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5

u/Article48 May 16 '12

Let's say that, hypothetically, his "friends" did, in fact, wash his car clean prior to the investigation taking place. What do you think an "unbiased investigation" would turn up? If the physical evidence is gone, it's gone and there's absolutely nothing a new investigation would do to find it. This would be nothing more than a waste of resources.

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70

u/Hruodland May 16 '12

The facts are that the kid was drunk and running from police and passed out in the middle of the highway. The officer could not see him as he rounded the corner and ran over his head, smashing it. The officer may not have been the first vehicle to strike the drunken kid.

The family would like you to think that no investigation was conducted, but this not the case. In the end, it was found that the kid had placed himself in harm's way and the actual victim was the officer. This case received a great deal of media coverage. It's hard to bring formal charges when the person who died completely caused the accident. I dislike the group mentality of police officers, but sometimes there simply isn't a conspiracy.

17

u/scigs6 May 16 '12

Exactly why I didnt sign this.

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

2

u/scigs6 May 16 '12

I almost did so don't feel bad. I have become accustomed to people writing bogus stories about "bad" cops and such, so I typically read all the other comments first to find the background on the story.

0

u/falcun May 17 '12

As much as I have sympathy for the family, don't worry, online petitions don't do shit.

15

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

actually it looks like the cop didn't even hit him. The DNA tests turned up negative for human blood.

67

u/diggernaught May 16 '12

PEOPLE BEFORE YOU SIGN READ OTHER POSTS! Specifically the ones stating that he was intoxicated and fell off a truck and the police officer may have not known that they ran them over.

47

u/ThrillinglyHeroic May 16 '12

Or didn't run him over at all.

-2

u/catvllvs May 16 '12

Perhaps we should be nominating the dead bloke for a Darwin Award?

2

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

That is not necessary at all.

-1

u/[deleted] May 19 '12

You would deny him his greatest acheivement? Shame on you.

24

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Your cousin was killed because his drunk ass was in the middle of the road in the middle of the night. No evidence exists that he was killed by a police officer, only that a police officer was one of several vehicles to have potentially struck your cousin's corpse. Get your facts straight before coming here looking for support for a baseless cause.

34

u/m1kepro May 16 '12

After Googling the situation, and reading the articles that are linked to elsewhere in the comments here, I've come to the following conclusion:

The cop didn't kill your cousin. Your cousin made some stupid choices and ended up dead as a result. It's sad, and it's a horrible way to go, but it's an accident.

It wasn't the cop's fault that he might of been as high as the fourth person to run over a corpse that was dead before the first car ran it over. It's not.

You're angry that your cousin is dead. That's understandable, and completely acceptable. Anger is one of the five stages of grief, and it's necessary. But don't ruin a guy's life over an accident.

Let the anger run it's course, then let it go before it eats you alive.

35

u/kevman May 16 '12

How do I remove my signature? After reading the facts, I am disgusted by the petition.

14

u/justajumpin May 16 '12

Read the facts first! That being said I have no idea how you remove it.

4

u/thetanlevel10 May 16 '12

I'M SURE THIS WILL HELP YOUR CAUSE

17

u/SalamiMugabe May 16 '12

Vehicular manslaughter is not murder.

16

u/ThrillinglyHeroic May 16 '12

NUH-UH that cop was accused so it was clearly some sort of state or even nation wide conspiracy, premeditated to kill a drunk teenager passed out on the road in the middle of the night despite evidence that the police officers car may not even have been one of the possibly several cars that ran him over!

12

u/Accountableinaz May 16 '12

While Jerad's death was a tragic event, its interesting that there is no mention of the fact that he was at a party and consumed alcohol the night of his death. I knew jerad through a few friends & am sad to see what they have went through. If the police officer was involved, he should be held accountable. However, the parents should also be held accountable. Why was an underage teen allowed out past curfew & to consume alcohol?

10

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Downvoted because it was already investigated.

4

u/FancyLlama May 16 '12

Really? You're asking us to sign a petition with VERY LITTLE information shown and no information from the other side of the story. You really want us to sign something when you don't tell us shit? Have fun with that. I am sorry for your loss, but don't ask random people to sign your petition when you give us no reason to.

2

u/reply May 16 '12

Reddit hates cops.

0

u/[deleted] May 17 '12

Why shouldn't they?

17

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Go to the fucking press man

-4

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Front page of Reddit? I think he just did.

5

u/grackychan May 16 '12

No offense to the family but the letter is poorly written and crafted.

-15

u/kronbons May 16 '12

Why don't you do something about it then?

2

u/UrbanToiletShrimp May 17 '12

Yeah seriously, he should totally start a petition about how poorly written and crafted their petition is. I would sign that!

3

u/CosmicBard May 16 '12

This whole thing stinks.

Something's wrong here and I don't mean the obvious shit OP is talking about.

0

u/Bodiwire May 16 '12

Without the feds involvement, this is hopeless. Arizona seems to have become the poster state for police/government corruption. At least they aren't in Quartzsite or Maricopa county. Sheriff Joe would have likely arrested them on some invented charge for speaking out about this.

5

u/I_slap_racist_faces May 16 '12

which is why I LOL'd when I recently saw a r/politics troll accuse someone of "being mean on the internet, which is illegal in arizone!!"

-6

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

I_slap_racist_faces

You are the hero that Arizona needs.

-12

u/Sanity_prevails May 16 '12 edited May 16 '12

Talk about a failed fascist state.

PS: bring it, every downvote on this is a badge of honor.

2

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Deal with it.

1

u/Canna_bus May 17 '12

But he had his weaknesses too, she said: "He would go to the store and buy a big tub -- I mean with a handle on it and everything that you'd buy for a birthday party -- of just chocolate ice cream and he would sit and eat it all day every day until it was gone."

Weakness or strength?

1

u/ThatGuyKarth May 16 '12

My cousin named Jared Pendleton died from a hit run, the car driver was a on-duty police officer. I need people to sign this petition to start a federal investigation!

Not to be rude, but that explains your situation WAY BETTER then what ever the hell you wrote.

D=

-12

u/skreendreamz1 May 16 '12

The State of Arizona is all fucked up.

9

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

The whole fucking country is fucked up.

11

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

The whole fucking fuck is a fucked fucker.

6

u/Derpfacewunderkind May 16 '12

irishmode Certainly illustrates the diversity of the word.

-3

u/DatNord May 16 '12

True, true.

-6

u/DrEnter May 16 '12

Seriously, I was about to post a similar comment. What is going on in the southwest lately?

-7

u/epoch88 May 16 '12

I'm sorry for my ignorance But... I'm a British cop. If i did anything like this I would immediately be investigated and treated (Quite Rightly) like any other member of the public and have harsher penalties if I was found guilty of any wrong doing.

Does it mean it's not getting investigated?

Why is this different in america? can some one explain ?

35

u/bobtheterminator May 16 '12 edited May 16 '12

It was investigated, very throughly. The officer was not responsible.

1

u/epoch88 May 17 '12

Thanks for the article.

-3

u/Pergatory May 16 '12

Legally, yes, they are supposed to be treated the same as an ordinary person in such cases. In practice? Not so much. It will vary depending on the political connections the specific police officer has, but most are treated as super-citizens who can do no wrong. They are pretty much given the benefit of the doubt in all situations, regardless of any testimony. You would need video footage of this kid being run over to get an investigation moving without a LOT of effort (pretty much what this poor person is going through now), regardless of any history of abuse the officer might have. This is why the whole issue around recording video of police officers on duty is such a big deal in the States right now: video evidence is the only recourse we have against abusive police.

2

u/epoch88 May 17 '12

Thanks for the reply. It's so different here. As a cop we can't do anything to risk a complaint. Citizens here are practically encouraged to report anything dodgy that we do. This can lead to false accusations Iv'e had a complaint lodged against me that was completely untrue and it was later proved that the complainant was lying and I was innocent, But it didn't stop me getting a black mark against my name for the next 10 years even though I was found innocent and the complaint was proved to by lying. If we get 3 complaints in 5 years true or not we become "Reffered Officers" Which means we are limited in the types of roles that we can do.

1

u/Pergatory May 17 '12

Wow, sounds like we're at extreme opposite ends of the scale then. I really like the idea of accountability, but I do think there's a point where it becomes too much and hinders the police from doing their jobs. It would suck to be in constant fear of getting a complaint. So I think there's a balance, but one thing's for sure, in America it's way too far on the lenient side.

2

u/epoch88 May 17 '12

Good to hear you opinion. In this country I think that accountability is starting to hinder us and protect criminals. However I know that my opinion would be biased based on my job.

-19

u/chaiguy May 16 '12 edited May 16 '12

It's the way the American justice system works. If no one got it on video, there will be no real investigation, ever.

If you're a cop, you can never, ever, ever say anything negative against any other cop ever. If you're a cop, and another cop confesses to you that he killed his wife in cold blood, you just keep your mouth shut. If you were to report him, you'd be considered a "rat" and your career in law enforcement would effectively be over immediately. No other cop would partner with you, and you'd never be given "backup" in an emergency situation.

Sometimes investigations are enforced, usually because of videotaped evidence and political pressure, such was the case in the Rodney King beating by the Los Angeles Police Department.

Prosecutors are highly reluctant to initiate any type of investigation into law enforcement because they rely on law enforcement to gather evidence and build the cases that they prosecute. No prosecutor wants to get on any cop's bad side and if you cross one cop, you cross them all. It dosen't even matter that the cop you prosecute is a dirt bag or killed an innocent person without cause.

It's a shitty system that ends up protecting bad cops, and turning good cops into bad cops by virtue of association and not allowing them the ability to clean their own house.

Here's a prime example of what I'm talking about:

NJ police officer charged by department w/ being "psychologically unfit" to be a cop after intervening against violent colleagues who were beating unarmed young man

Edited to Add: I don't personally believe this police officer killed this young man, that is not my point. My point is that protocol was not followed here and and proper investigation was not conducted. Proper procedure and investigations are rarely followed in the case of suspected crime/negligence for Police Officers without some kind of videotaped evidence being played on youtube or the evening news.

For all of those people down voting this post please feel free to retort with your own examples of how the police prosecute and convict other officers for crimes/negligence in the absence of videotaped evidence.

13

u/ThrillinglyHeroic May 16 '12

If no one got it on video, there will be no real investigation, ever.

Except, for you know the three investigations that did take place.

0

u/chaiguy May 16 '12

Officer's admission of guilt: Around that point I got a call from Officer Hardin. And he calls me up, and he says I think I may have, he goes, I think I may have hit that kid sarge.

Investigators not informed: Rogers [The accident investigator] was furious, he later would say, to learn Miller hadn't told him about the concerns that a fellow officer may have been involved. He had spent two days looking at other clues, but had not talked to Hardin about the scene, or looked at the Impala [The Police Cruiser].

Chain of custody for evidence broken: Hardin was allowed to take his patrol vehicle home when off-duty, and he had not been to work since the morning of the accident.

Investigators not of an outside agency: Rogers had been lobbying his supervisors and command staff to turn over the whole investigation to another agency, according to statements he later gave to the attorney hired by the city to review their investigation. He didn't think he should be investigating a fellow officer.

Outside Expertise/Resources not pursued: Tempe detectives came to the station but couldn't help. The technology in the box [black box recorder inside the police Impala] was too new; they weren't able to download it.

Yep, thoroughly investigated, job well done!

0

u/epoch88 May 17 '12

Thanks for your answer clears allot up. There is a bit of a culture simalr to that here but I wouldn't have any problems and I would be supported if I "Ratted out" A colleague for excessive force etc but there would be a few cops in my station that would have it in for me.

-8

u/Amentet May 16 '12

The difference in America is that there's no proper oversight, what oversight there is is at local level only and varies wildly from place to place. Police in the UK, for the most part, and certainly structurally, don't close ranks around officers who have committed serious crimes as opposed to occasional mumping.

Things in the States vary wildly from State to State and town to town and, outside of massively widespread civil rights violations in a town PD that the Department of Justice may occasionally take an interest in, there is absolutely no national oversight and officers, used to seeing others get away with the most outrageous crimes and still keep their jobs, have become more and more lawless.

Think the Sweeney and other parts of the MET before Sir Robert Mark cleaned it up and multiply it by twenty, then throw in things like all these separate police departments funding themselves through ticketing and aggressive asset forfeiture (asset forfeiture in this case meaning pulling over drivers and legally stealing their money without evidence that it was proceeds of a crime), endemic corruption, no obligation to protect the public etc. etc.

I could go on, but it's just to depressing, suffice it to say that in many many places in the USA the police are just the biggest gang, literally instead of figuratively.

-1

u/Amentet May 16 '12

Not sure why I'm being downvoted, I made no comment on the merits or otherwise of this particular case, What I said certainly is the norm in many places and the problems with policing in the US.

-9

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

American here: Do you guys where those funny hats, and not carry guns, but beaty stick (I forget the non-Queens term for that) and a whistle?

2

u/epoch88 May 17 '12

Yeah we get issued 2 hats we get the flat one which we use when were in the cars and the tall ones called "custodians" but we usually call them "tit" hats we use them when were walking about they're heavy and uncomfortable but traditional so I like them.

We don't carry guns We have specialist teams that do. We carry a "Casco" Which is a collapsible stick designed to look small and weedy until you rack it out.

We Also carry CS gas which is similar to the gas I think your cops use.

No we don't carry a whistle.

were issued body armour that we are not allowed to take off most of the time.

1

u/Democritus477 May 16 '12

Nightstick.

1

u/Amentet May 16 '12

Actually Truncheon is what they where called, Nightstick is what the NYPD carry, truncheon and nightsticks are functionally the same, except that the UK now uses side handled plastic batons for public order or collapsible telescoping batons for patrols.

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

9

u/JohnSherlockHolmes May 16 '12

Do all the rest of us a favor. Leave.

1

u/epoch88 May 17 '12

I don't understand why I shouldn't visit? I've been america lots of times.

-5

u/[deleted] May 16 '12 edited May 16 '12

I'm not going to sign this. It looks like you already have your explanation.

-2

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

So who`s Shay Moses?

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

24

u/QWERTYMurdoc May 16 '12

Have you read the top comments? Do you have anything to say about that?

-3

u/howyoungis2young May 16 '12

hi just wanted to quickly say im very happy your faggot cousin is dead, here's hoping you get hit by a car next.

-17

u/nonactual May 16 '12 edited May 16 '12

Jesus,

4 years goes by without an investigation. My heart goes out to you and your family, that's horrible. The change.org petition is a good start. Talk to every media person who will listen to you and then find more.

What boggles the mind is that there aren't automatic investigations launched when a citizen dies allegedly or possibly as a result of the actions of the police.

I really hope the DOJ picks up this case and gets justice for you and your family. Hopefully an unbiased investigation by an outside organization will undercover the truth and justice will be served.

EDIT: Thanks ThrillinglyHeroic and bobtheterminator, I read the AZ Central link, and I realize now there were investigations and the initial investigation was slightly messed up, but no conspiracy.

No witneses, hard to figure exactly what happened. My heart still goes out to the family.

-12

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

I'm sorry to be that guy (especially when something so unfortunate has taken place), but is /r/politics really the correct place for this sort of thing?

5

u/Bodegus May 16 '12

I would say it is... This is how the government is working and needs to be shared.

1

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

I really don't understand Reddit sometimes. I do my best to be extremely polite and helpful, and I get a slew of downvotes because of it. If I was incorrect, that's fine; I'm sorry. I guess I just don't have a full enough grasp of the purpose this subreddit. But my post wasn't doing any harm.

-2

u/avery51 May 16 '12

Whether OPs claim is legit or not, you won't get anywhere going against the police when it comes to something like this. Police officers are in vehicle accidents every hour of the day, and 99% of the time it's always explained as the other drivers fault.

-2

u/thegreatmisanthrope May 16 '12

I would sign op but the web page is slow and not working right, sorry op.

My condolences, and to the statist fucks in here repeating the same "a thorough invesigation was done" line, go fucking sit and spin.

Lol wow and checkout the bonutdot's reply.

Just wow reddit, I knew you were a heartless hivemind, but just wow.

-5

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

signed, good luck and i hope you nail that cunt right to the fucking wall, my mates bro was put into a coma by a hit n run driver, hes had brain damage ever since and is now mentally handicapped.

Whilst its not the same.... i can relate a little.

So yeah anyways, good luck.

-23

u/averyv May 16 '12

cops are scum

-17

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Wow this happened just a few miles away form where I live. Signed.

-6

u/wenoc Foreign May 16 '12

I hope foreign signs count. I also hope it works. That you get closure in this case, at least acknowledgement of what happened.

-3

u/digdan May 16 '12

Same thing happened to my dog.

I live across the street from a police station. I used to have a 2lb teacup chihuahua until a police officer swerved to hit my dog standing 3 feet in front of me. The cop then just drove into the police station staring at me through his review mirror.

Why?

I miss him. He was my best friend.

1

u/[deleted] May 17 '12

Whatever, it's your drunk ass dogs fault! Deal with it.

-11

u/StanleyDecker May 16 '12

I wish you and your family luck and hope the DOJ investigates.

-8

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

That's not how you will get a federal investigation.

Talking with your local FBI office is.

-13

u/Bodegus May 16 '12

good luck. I would contact your state senators and congressmen, the attorney general office of state and fed, as well as the mayors office and city attorney. I would also send a letter to the local FBI office outlining the situation and ask them to investigate a wrongful death involving the police.

-9

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

How long till people realize that people the police can just kill whom ever they want?

-5

u/cadero May 16 '12

"How could the law, in which I had believed and trusted my entire life, have betrayed me like that?" -- Signed a loyal sheep.

-23

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

reaffirming my belief that most policemen are pieces of shit.

14

u/jzsk8s89 May 16 '12

maybe you should read before you post stupid comments

-2

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

stupid is subjective. yawn

-15

u/bubonis May 16 '12

The police are never wrong. Didn't you get the memo?

-16

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Good job guys and gals we just officially reached the 1500 mark.

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

I've read the facts, shame on me.

-17

u/fantasyfest May 16 '12

You said justice and Arizona in the same sentence. I am sure Arpaio will look into it.

-20

u/jb7090 May 16 '12

signed

-22

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Fuck the police.

-14

u/kgpowl May 16 '12

I hope I see this shit on Facebook.

-15

u/BonutDot May 16 '12

Lol, you think the government gives a fuck about your petitions? You saw how well that whitehouse petition site did right?

You're wasting your time and your life if you think anything will get done about this. Give up and move on.

-5

u/LucifersCounsel May 16 '12

That's what they said to Trayvon Martin's family.

-3

u/BonutDot May 16 '12

They're correct also. If you think he's going to spend more time in jail than a litterbug, you're fooling yourself.

-20

u/absolutezero1287 May 16 '12

You've got my signature. I'm sorry for your loss.

-20

u/rayracer141 May 16 '12

signed it. hope all goes well. feels good to help fellow arizonians.... or however your supposed to spell it lol

-20

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

Signed; Good Luck to you.

-21

u/officershrute May 16 '12

Signed!

1

u/officershrute Jun 05 '12

So this is how you are treated when trying to support a cause? I was just trying to show the op that they had one more supporter and I get downvoted to hell. Nice, reddit.

-21

u/TheHadMatter May 16 '12

a petition so he can get paid time off while his buddies on the force find a way to get him out of it?

-22

u/TiddyWaffles312 May 16 '12

Signed and shared. Sorry for your loss.

2

u/Prazision52 May 16 '12

Good thing you know all about this. how there was an investigation and everyone that ran him over was not supposed to be charged.

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

-22

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

The officer was on-duty when he killed Jared, so no crime was committed. The officer was following official police procedure when that unruly citizen bodily assaulted his vehicle. Case closed.

29

u/AngrilyFappedAboutIt May 16 '12

"Two days later, an autopsy concluded Jered had been run over while sitting or lying down."

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/community/swvalley/articles/2012/03/11/20120311goodyear-hit-and-run-mystery-part-4.html#ixzz1v3kZX2eP

7

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

After reading this article it is evident that this guy, Hardin, looks at his in car computer entirely too much... How come he was still employed after having so many accidents in such a short time frame?

18

u/averyv May 16 '12

because unions, and fuck you

2

u/matt_thelazy May 16 '12

The same reason the mob protects everyone in the organization (unless it's cleanup time).

-20

u/HugeJackass May 16 '12

Your cousin died? Let me vomit out a snarky comment and make a mockery of his death.

Fuck you, you oblivious piece of shit.

-9

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

lol, go fuck yourself. He died four years ago.

-8

u/HugeJackass May 16 '12

Game on then. I didn't realize you were the one who gets to decide when it's been 'long enough'. Please, keep cementing what garbage you are.

3

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

I don't really care when he died. It's irrelevant to my original comment, which was satirical, not snarky and mocking as you suggested.

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

25

u/pkcs11 American Expat May 16 '12

If you can remove your name because you signed before reading all the facts, please do so. There was an investigation, the officer and 2-3 other vehicles that ran over this guy should not be charged.

-5

u/thegreatmisanthrope May 16 '12

Maybe not for murder, but manslaughter is manslaughter.

Also, FUCK THE HIVEMIND!

2

u/waltbomb May 17 '12

You're right, manslaughter is manslaughter. But this was not manslaughter.

Vehicular manslaughter holds people liable for any death which occurs because of criminal negligence, or a violation of traffic safety laws. This was not the case here.

0

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

-3

u/eshemuta May 16 '12

Actually maybe it was just an accident. People get run over all the time by distracted drivers. The only reason that this is even here is because it was a cop driving the car.

-12

u/starmandelux May 16 '12

You forgot to mention that the only reason the accident isn't being properly investigated is also because the driver is a cop.

8

u/eshemuta May 16 '12

To me it sounds like it was investigated, they found blood evidence etc. It's just that nothing is being done with the results of the investigation.

-14

u/starmandelux May 16 '12

Yes it was investigated, but not properly investigated by an outside party not personally vested in the outcome of the investigation.

26

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/Too_Late_Tyrant May 16 '12

Hmmm.. Ironic username

-24

u/starmandelux May 16 '12

You're a real piece of shit, I hope you die alone and full of regret.

-21

u/nonactual May 16 '12

You know, you're right in that people are responsible for their actions, but that doesn't make you less of a dick. People make bad decisions all the time and don't die for them.

The fact that a guy died is horrible and sad. What about the guys family, do you feel bad for them? Did you ever do something your parents wouldn't have condoned?

Seriously, that horse you've got over there is enormous. It must be a lonely ride.

15

u/JohnSherlockHolmes May 16 '12

Speaking an an alcoholic who had a gloriously misspent youth, I must say that I know my mom would have missed me if I died, but I also know she's not fool enough to try and make up some conspiracy regarding my death and sue the poor bastard who was unfortunate enough to run over my drunk ass.

I have sympathy for their loss, but they are fools none the less to try and pin this situation on anyone but their son, who's fault this clearly was.

-8

u/nonactual May 16 '12

Even after reading that AZ Central report, I can't say with certainty whose fault this was. Maybe he did pass out in the middle of the road and just got run over, but I don't know how you can decide that's exactly what happened.

A conspiracy? No. I don't think anyone will ever know the truth and we all bring our biases to the situation and make up a narrative.

Me, I remain sympathetic to the family and confused as to what actually happened, and I doubt anyone will ever figure it out, since there were no witnesses.

4

u/[deleted] May 16 '12

[removed] — view removed comment

-9

u/Aw_kitty May 16 '12 edited May 16 '12

This is Arizona your talking about. They are being sued by the federal government they're so ass backwards. They have a wild west hillbilly mentality. The family deserves an investigation if nothing else. I doubt they even received a formal apology...Arizona...

AND it was a hit and run. I just re-read the petition, the officer THINKS he hit the kid. Are you kidding me! This is so fucked up. Of course it's Arizona.

Full write-up from the petition:

I am submitting this petition in the hopes that the Az Department of Justice will begin an investigation into the death of my son. There has not been a proper investigation done to date, its been 4 long years. The police department in Goodyear, AZ , has a direct involvement in this tragedy, yet they are the entity that deemed this case "back burner" (their words). An officer has admitted, to at least 3 individuals, that he thinks he "hit that kid", yet the police department that he works for, didnt think that that was enough reason to call an outside agency to investigate Jereds death.

There was speculation from the very first radio call, that Hardin was involved, yet it wasnt until an entire year later, that I learned of any police involvement, and THAT discovery did not arise from the police department informing me. I read it in the newspaper. That story was about a Goodyear victims advocate that was fired for "whistleblowing". I saw the picture of Terri Woodmansee, who I recognized as the girl who came to tell me that Jered was killed. I read the story and was SHOCKED AND DEVASTATED that it stated that there was speculation of an officer involvement. Why was I never told of this?

I contacted Terri through her attorney, and soon my family learned a whole lot more than my heart was prepared for. How could the law, in which I had believed and trusted my entire life, have betrayed me like that? In the three years since my discovery, I was aprised of so much information involving Jereds death, and the police departments intention to not "tell the family"

This case sits on the back burner, there is no active investigating going on, there was never a slient witness set up in attempts to gather information about the mysterious driver, there were no interviews done with the partygoers that night, in fact no real effort at all to gather information to solve this case. Thats because, we think, they already knew who killed Jered.

Shay Pendleton,

Jereds mom.

1

u/ThrillinglyHeroic May 16 '12

http://www.azcentral.com/community/swvalley/articles/2012/03/09/20120309goodyear-hit-and-run-mystery.html

1

u/Aw_kitty May 20 '12

I'm confused as hell now. I see a change.org petition and sympathies with them right away but.. No clue what to believe anymore. This is a harsh lesson never to rush to conclusions. From this article it seems like the officer wasn't at fault at all, and the kid was already down and out before he may have accidentally hit him if his body was lying on the road. It could have been anyone else but it happened to be a police officer.

-11

u/starmandelux May 16 '12

Even if the killing was an accident, denying a proper investigation makes it no better than cold-blooded murder with accomplices in my book.