D.A. forced to drop about 40 criminal cases over misconduct by investigating officers
Contra Costa County, California, prosecutors admitted that the cases were "compromised to the point they cannot be salvaged" due to police misconduct.
Prosecutors in Contra Costa County, California, have been forced to drop dozens of cases, admitting they’ve been “compromised to the point they cannot be salvaged” due to crimes and misconduct by the police officers who played critical roles in the investigations, according to The Mercury News.
“At this point in time, due to the nature of the criminal wrongdoing and misconduct of the involved officers, approximately 40 cases have been compromised to the point they cannot be salvaged and have subsequently been dismissed,” Chief Assistant District Attorney Simon O’Connell told the Bay Area News Group in a statement Thursday. “The cooperation of the Antioch and Pittsburg Police Departments has assisted greatly in this complex endeavor.”
O’Connell says his office “remains steadfast in preserving as many cases as possible.”
Per The Mercury News, an example of a case that would not proceed is one in which an impugned officer is the sole witness.
The investigation into Antioch and Pittsburg police officers was conducted by the Contra County D.A.’s office and the FBI, according to anonymous sources, and it included several officers, use-of-force incidents and encounters involving cocaine and steroids. The D.A.’s office would only confirm that the offenses are “crimes of moral turpitude,” a legal term that refers to crimes involving deceit or conduct that would “shock the conscience.”
The local investigation is running parallel to a federal court case that has led to more than a dozen dismissals — even in four cases where the defendants had pleaded guilty to gun charges that carried a 10-year maximum prison term and were awaiting sentencing.
“In order to continue to prosecute those cases, it will be necessary to make certain disclosures in accordance with ethical discovery obligations,” said Contra Costa D.A. spokesman Ted Asregadoo in an email to The Mercury News. “The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office continues to balance the integrity of the ongoing investigation with the duty to disclose favorable information to a defendant, along with due process rights of the implicated officers.”
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