Officer Edward Nero not guilty on all counts.  This was predictable as is the reactions below one is just plain stupid and the other represents a missed opportunity.

First let’s hear from the stupid. One of the people leading the charge was Rev. Wesley West.

“I’m angry because this is what we deal with, and when I say ‘we,’ we’re talking about the black community and I’m a part of and represent that community as well, it seems like we have no voice when it comes to these issues,” West said.

The black community had a voice and undermined their credibility by looting, burning and rioting.

“When it comes to conversations like this, we’re not involved. This should have been a jury trial where the community had a voice in this case. Of course a system works in a system’s favor, that’s how I look at it. That judge represents the system, and the police officer represents a system, but they’re all one system working together. And again I don’t think case was actually tried fairly when it comes down the community being involved.”

Rev. West chooses to ignore the fact that trial by judge or by jury is an option that is exercised by the defendant.  The police, the prosecutor, the defense and the judge all represent component parts of the system but it is by no means monolithic. Would it have been so hard for the reporter to ask Professor Colbert to clarify where Rev. West erred?

“I think to convict a police officer it requires very strong evidence,” University of Maryland Law Professor Doug Colbert told WJZ’s Linh Bui Monday. “Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is protection for every accused person, but there have been so few successful prosecutions of police officers … so it’s going to take a lot of evidence that an officer should be held criminally responsible.”

I think Professor Colbert’s statement is accurate, as far as it goes but there are additional points that he could have made.  In order to convict somebody the state must prove the “elements of the offense” beyond a reasonable doubt. Sometimes an additional element of the offense comes into play called a “defense to prosecution”.  When it applies, the prosecution must overcome the defense.  For example: two fifteen-year-olds bumping uglies in the back of daddy’s car. State law regarding statutory rape may not apply because of the relative age of the individuals.

Let me try to put this into context by coming up with two scenarios with similar fact situations.

Scenario One:  At the intersection of Walk and Don’t Walk three street narcs, sworn police officers, observe Reggie Brown selling crack cocaine. They watch several transactions and determine where his stash is.  They then pull up in a van, jump out, tackle Reggie and while two officers wrestle him into the van the driver retrieves the stash, jumps back in and they’re gone in thirty seconds. They take him to a parking lot three blocks away to turn him over to a jail transport. They find a quantity of crack cocaine both on his person and in his stash.  He is turned over to the transport wagon driver who has to make two additional pickup before he reaches the jail.  Reggie doesn’t survive the trip.

Scenario Two: Same intersection, opposite corner TJ and his three man hijack crew spot Dontay waddling out the rib shack.  They walk up and stick a gun in his ribs and tell him it is going to cost Dontay $5K to sleep in his own bed.  Dontay says he’s only got $3K on him, but his girlfriend has got the rest.  They pop the trunk of Dontay’s Cadillac and tell him to climb in.  Since Dontay is 200 pounds overweight, it turns out to be a tight fit.  They throw him a cell phone and tell Dontay to hurry up and get their money.  They then proceed to style around town in Dontay’s car. They find Dontay’s stash of premium skunk weed and smoke-out to the point of being comatose. Patrol wraps up the whole crew for public intoxication, up until the time they pop the trunk and find the late Dontay dead of positional asphyxiation because 400 pound fat men are not designed to ride around in Cadillac trunks.

In both scenarios none of the actors intended to cause the death of anybody. In Scenario One the officers were making a lawful arrest based on probable cause. This is a defense to prosecution.  The Prosecutor would have to show that the arrest was unlawful.  (It doesn’t matter if the charge is later dismissed or that the defendant is subsequently found not guilty.)   If the officers followed policy by calling for a wagon and the hand over with the wagon driver is within policy, then in my view their role in the scenario is over.  The state also anticipates that the police will take people to places against their will and prevent them from leaving.  This is also a defense to prosecution. If other officers (there were two other prisoners) stayed within policy and had no reason to believe that anything untoward was happening then they are probably clear also.  A prisoner bitching about going to jail doesn’t raise the alarm, absent any other indicators.

Scenario Two presents a problem from the git go.  I know of at least two hijackers that disagree with me, but there is no such thing as a “lawful hijacking”.  Slapping Dontay upside the head and demanding money for his release is at minimum extortion and robbery.  Taking Dontay from point A to point b is called false imprisonment or kidnapping.  There are no conceivable defenses to prosecution to be overcome.

Some may argue that if the cops hadn’t arrested Reggie he would still be alive. Maybe, he survived the arrest, not the transport.  Because of that legal intervening event the arresting officers had no way of knowing that out the hundreds of prisoner transports they had been involved with, this one would prove fatal.  In Scenario Two, TJ and his crew take their victim as they found him and there is nothing between them and Dontay’s death.

This whole prosecution had nothing to do with justice and everything to do with politics.  I would expect the States Attorney to dismiss on the three arresting officers.  I would expect a continued prosecution on the driver and the female sergeant but visions of a murder conviction ought to be long gone.

As to community input, I know, Rev. West why don’t you and your community run off all the dope dealers, make kids stay in school, ensure that homework gets done.  What’s that?  Crickets, thought so.