If you have ever had a cop lie about you on a police report, you are far from alone.   It is standard practice in almost every interaction for the cops involved to change their reports to fit the narrative they want.  It doesn’t get quashed because in most cases even when it is obvious. In court the judge and the prosecutor would rather have a win than “Impeach the testimony of a sworn officer of the court”.    After all , wins get prosecutors points and the fees and fines pay the judges salary.  I actually have a transcript from a court case in Pinellas Florida where an FWC officer blatantly lied in clear contradiction of his deposed testimony.   The judge allowed the lie in the record which ended in a conviction.     The very same judge illegally allowed an officer to give a victims impact statement at sentencing when there was no victim at all.     The officer actually wanted to read an article from an “Anti police” site written by the defendants husband.     The judge allowed it, said he couldn’t let it influence his sentence, and then quoted the article during sentencing.     Don’t be surprised if a cop lies; it is part of the system. Innocent men don’t pay fines, only those found guilty do.

“Three Boynton Beach police officers took part in an illegal “beatdown” of a suspect, then concocted a cover-up when they found out they had been videotaped by a hovering helicopter, prosecutors told jurors Tuesday.

Defense attorneys for the three men, only one of whom still works in law enforcement, told the jury the criminal trial is an unfair attempt by prosecutors to second-guess how the officers handled a very dangerous arrest.

“People want to second-guess them after the fact. … The government is Monday-morning quarterbacking,” defense attorney Bruce Reinhart said during opening statements in federal court in West Palm Beach.

But prosecutors quickly followed up with damaging testimony from three fellow law enforcement officers – who expressed concerns about how the incident, and the aftermath, was handled by the defendants.

The trio accused of inflicting the beating – Officer Michael Brown and former officers Justin Harris and Ronald Ryan – have pleaded not guilty to federal charges that could send them to prison if they are convicted.

Prosecutors say Brown, Harris and Ryan used “excessive force” by beating and kicking the front-seat passenger and using a stun gun on him after a high-speed chase on Aug. 20, 2014.

They also said the officers filed false initial reports about what happened and then adjusted them about a week later after they found out that the beating was videotaped by an overhead helicopter operated by the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office.

The officers had arrested the front-seat passenger, Jeffrey Braswell, on a charge of resisting arrest without violence before they found out about the video.

After realizing what was on tape, they rewrote their reports and added claims that Braswell had resisted them, tried to assault them and appeared to have been reaching for a weapon or trying to escape, prosecutors said. The officers were trying to justify their excessive use of force by making it seem like the suspect resisted them enough to justify what they did, according to the prosecution.

Boynton Beach Police Officer Patrick Monteith testified Tuesday that he saw much of what unfolded after the police chase ended and officers “swarmed” around the suspects’ car. His testimony, which resumes on Wednesday, suggested that Braswell was not resisting during the beating.

Monteith, who told jurors it was a “little bit” uncomfortable to see his fellow officers in court, testified that he had his police rifle trained on Braswell and watched much of what unfolded from just in front of the hood of the suspects’ car.

“I could see his [Braswell’s] hands. His hands were up. … He was blocking blows that were coming [from officers],” Monteith testified.

Braswell, whose seat belt was still on, was jerking back and forth in the seat from the blows like he was in a washing machine, Monteith said.”

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-pn-boynton-cops-beating-openings-20171030-story.html