Dem
49
GOP
51
We admit that the schadenfreude here is a little limited. But we think it's a pretty important story, so we'll have to be satisfied with what little schadenfreude we can get.
The central figure in this story is Thomas Perez Jr., who lives in the California city of Fontana with his father (Papa Tom) and his dog. One evening, back in 2018, Papa Tom left home and did not return for many hours. Perez eventually called the police, who came to the house and asked him to return with them to the police station.
Initially, Perez' participation was voluntary and the police were cordial. What he did not know is that the officers were buying time so they could get a warrant and search Perez' house. Once they did so, and found some evidence they considered definitive (for example, a cadaver-sniffing dog alerted in one bedroom, suggesting the possibility that human remains had been in the room at some point), the visit with the police became no-longer-voluntary and not at all cordial.
Over several days, Perez was subject to lengthy interrogation sessions. The police denied him food, water and his prescription medications. They required him to strip. They told him they'd found his father's dead body, with blood all over the house, and Perez' fingerprints in the blood. They even put him in a squad car and drove him around Fontana, pointing to the spots where they said Perez might have committed the crime. Eventually, Perez confessed.
Presumably, you know where this is headed. Perez was not guilty of killing his father. Nobody was, in fact, because Papa Tom is still alive. He had flown to Oakland to meet his daughter, and forgot to mention it on his way out.
The good news here is that Perez was eventually freed (of course), and received a $900,000 settlement for his ordeal. The bad news is that others, in his situation, aren't usually so lucky as to be completely exonerated. If Papa Tom had been dead, then that plus the confession would have been enough to put Perez away for a long time. On top of that, while the city paid the price for its officers' behavior, the officers did not. In fact, of the two lead detectives in the case, one just received an award for exemplary service, while the other has been promoted to chief. As noted, the schadenfreude here is limited.
There is no question that police have a very difficult job, and often deal with very difficult people. It is equally true, however, that there are lots of mistakes and lots of abuses. Unfortunately, "crime" (and, in particular, "urban crime," which really means "minority crime") have been turned into such bugaboos that it's virtually impossible for politicians to engage with this issue. Yes, "Defund the Police" was very poor branding. But even absent that phrase, any politician who dares suggest that there may be a problem, and that maybe we could be doing better on policing, risks ending their career. It's really a shame. (Z)