Stop-and-frisk trial judge concerned by NYPD officers' testimony
Source: The Guardian
Stop-and-frisk trial judge concerned by NYPD officers' testimony
Ryan Devereaux in New York
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 23 April 2013 19.15 BST
The federal judge presiding over the landmark case against the New York police department's controversial stop-and-frisk policy has complained that witnesses have perjured themselves during the hearings.
Judge Shira Scheindlin ordered two officers to come back to court this week, after expressing concerns about their earlier testimony. In heated exchanges with the officers' lawyers, she alleged that other witnesses had committed perjury.
The two officers returned to court on Monday, in order to be seen by Leroy Downs, an African American resident of Staten Island who claims they violated his rights in a 2008 stop. The officers had first testified last week. One said he could not recall the stop, while the other said it did not happen. Downs' detailed description of the alleged encounter, as well as earlier complaints about the incident that were upheld, has called the officers' testimony into question and underscored ongoing challenges in the landmark trial.
The drama began last week, as officers James Mahoney and Scott Giacona took the witness stand. The pair were questioned about a stop alleged to have taken place on 20 August 2008, while the men were part of a plainclothes Brooklyn gang unit temporarily assigned to work on Staten Island. The officers were accused of stopping, frisking and searching Downs outside his home. Downs filed a complaint about the incident with the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), an institution tasked with investigating allegations of police abuse. In January 2009, the officers testified under oath about the stop in an interview with the CCRB.
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Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/23/nypd-us-constitution-and-civil-liberties
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