George Bush today commuted the sentences of Jose Compeán and Ignacio Ramos, two former Border Patrol agents who shot an unarmed fleeing marijuana smuggler and then tried to cover up the incident.
From Wikipedia:
The two officers were arrested after the drug smuggler, Osvaldo Aldrete Dávila, filed a complaint against them. After a two-week jury trial, Compeán was found guilty on 11 counts, including discharging a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, which by itself carries a federally mandated 10-year minimum sentence. Without that charge, both agents involved would have received far shorter sentences. Instead, Compeán was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and his partner, Ignacio Ramos, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Our laws don’t permit the police to shoot unarmed suspects just because they are fleeing or uncooperative. We don’t recognize the “ley de fuga” or “law of flight” in this country. Dávila was only wounded in the buttocks, but not for lack of trying by Compeán and Ramos. Had he died, they would have been murderers.
In the above video* you can see BART police officer Johannes Mehserle and another officer place an unarmed man named Oscar Grant III face down on a Oakland train platform. There are several other officers in the area as well. For unexplained reasons (he refused to make a statement) Mehserle stands up, draws his pistol and shoots Grant in the back, killing him.
Mehserle has been charged with murder, which is highly unusual in police shootings. Even when charges are filed, convictions are rare. One can’t help but wonder if the charges would have been filed had their not been numerous videos of the incident.
I have to take issue with the idea that cops and soldiers should be held to a lower standard of behavior because they are “good guys” or because they have tough jobs. If we are going to give anyone the power of life or death over others, they should be held to a very strict standard.
If they abuse the power and trust that is given to them by lying or using excessive force there should be zero tolerance. Jose Compeán and Ignacio Ramos should remain in prison to serve their full sentences, and Johannes Mehserle should be joining them there.
*Here is another video from a different angle
Filed under: General Tagged: | George W. Bush, Ignacio Ramos, Johannes Mehserle, Jose Compeán, Oscar Grant III, Osvaldo Aldrete Dávila, Police Brutality
I was waiting for this pardon. I had followed this case and at first I thought that it was just another case of abusing authority. But it wasn’t a simple case at all.
The man they supposedly shot wasn’t *a* nice law abiding citizen — He was actually a dangerous drug dealer with a long list of warrants for his arrest and was armed and dangerous when this happened. This human smuggler/drug dealer etc… used his *get out of jail* card during the trail — used it to smuggle drugs and mexians into the US …
This isn’t about someone minding his own business and getting picked on by the cops.
So, yeah, i am content with the pardons.
Sorry they weren’t pardon their sentence was commuted…
Bush throwing a bone to the wingnuts? If anything, law enforcement/military should be held to a HIGHER standard, as they are trained on the proper use of firearms. Wonder what Obama’s take on this would be – but we’ll probably never know – he’d actualyy have to express an opinion that someone might not like. Oh well.
In the meantime, Peltier still sits in prison for a crime he likely did NOT commit. What a country.
Ceit, cops can’t shoot people just because they’re guilty. I know, I know, that’s unfair, inefficient, and expensive to taxpayers, but there it is. Even serial killers get trials here. That is, if they’re not black kids on a BART platform. Okay, I’m sensitive about that last part, sure, but there you go.
Ceit:
He was unarmed, and the agents didn’t know about his warrants, none of which were for serious or violent felonies.
If they did nothing wrong, why did the agents fail to report the shooting?
The jury heard the evidence and found them guilty. They were then sentenced in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines.
They don’t deserve special treatment.
There are guys sitting on death row with DNA evidence that shows they could not have committed the crime… and he picks these guys. Figures.
BTW – The LAPD originally lied about Rodney King too.
I think anytime a cop lies or conceals evidence it should be an automatic firing offense (at a minimum)
myiq, no!!! Say it ain’t so!!! LAPD lied?! Get outta here!!
I lived in LA then, and the guy who shot the video said he heard the noise, looked out the window, and said, “They’re killing this guy!” Then, he went and got his new video camera he had gotten for Christmas, figured out how to use it, and started taping. So, the whole thing went on much longer than the jury was lead to believe in court.
When the NYPD killed Diallo it was a street execution.
The problem was he was innocent.
(at least two bullets entered the bottom of his feet, indicating that he was lying on the floor)
Cinie:
If the cops would have seen him, he woulda been next to resist arrest.
But if they had beaten the video guy, myiq, would it have been “gorillas in the mist, NHI baseball (with King’s head),” like the cops called in?
NHI – no humans involved
Cinie:
I’ve seen a photo of a cop in SF beating a protestor while a few feet away a 2nd photographer is taking pictures.
Then the next photo shows the cop hitting the 2nd photographer.
The sad thing is this kind of stuff has been going on forever, but the prevalance of video recorders (including some cell phones) has exposed it.
Myiq2xu-
This was a very complex case in the case of Campion/Ramos.
There were mistakes on the side of the officers and on the way the prosecution.
Evidence that could have been material to the extenuating circumstances was prohibitted by the judge.
Many of the jurors when they heard about what was censored out of the trial as far as the character of the “victim” said had they known they would have found both officers not guilty.
I believe that they should have been dismissed from their job. The fact that alleged was “unarmed” was not known to the officers at the time of the shooting also.
It is uncommon for smugglers of drugs to be unarmed allong the border…Agents are taught to consider every situation as possible “armed and dangerous” .
I was not there I think the whole situation was F’d up from the git-go.
I am ok with the commutation.
Your second video is appalling…no excuse. These Officers should “metaphorically” HANGED….for the crime they committed and most importantly for violating the public trust of …”to protect and to serve”.
Tell me about it. I’ve been pulled over for outnumbering the white driver, (me and three other black people getting a lift home late at night in a friend’s Volkswagen) driving in a white neighborhood after dark, (lost) and driving while fitting the description of a Mexican male thief. I’ve also been stopped for carrying a shopping bag of groceries while walking home after midnight.
Fuzzy:
The key piece of info for me is that the agents concealed what they did.
Ceit, on January 19th, 2009 at 6:22 pm Said:
The man they supposedly shot wasn’t *a* nice law abiding citizen — He was actually a dangerous drug dealer with a long list of warrants for his arrest and was armed and dangerous when this happened. This human smuggler/drug dealer etc… used his *get out of jail* card during the trail — used it to smuggle drugs and mexians into the US …
So, let me get this straight.
just because this man sold drugs and was not a “Good” person, it gave those two men the right to shoot him?
Guess you never visited the South Side of Chicago!
Myiq2xu-I agree that is key to their conduct and they should be dissmissed from their jobs.
Are they guilty of attempted murder? I am not so sure…We can assume that race was not a factor in this case as to the conduct of the officers both officers and the “victim” were Hispanic.
Had the officers been Caucasian this would probably never even been investigated. Race may have been a factor in how the case was investigated.
The victim waited 2 weeks to file a complaint? Curious?
Lou Dobbs has been following this case for a very long time – he sides with the cops. Every time he’s brought it up I’ve only paid the slightest attention, so I couldn’t explain why, but I always thought Dobbs made a compelling case for why the cops were not treated fairly. And if I’m not mistaken the so-called “victim” of this walked free.
DYB -Lou Dobbs has not drank the Koolaid so he cannot be trusted on the matters of this case…we can only trust the Pro-Pampers guys at MSNBO
It is curious as to why the victim waited 2 weeks to file a complaint. What troubles me about this case is the fact that the two officers “Lied” about it. Were they scared? Did they panic? Were they justified? Did they fear for their lives? Whatever was going through their heads, the fact remains that they tried to cover it up!
Is MSNBO mad about this? Well, if they’re mad about it…
Fuzzy:
Don’t assume.
Mexican-Americans and Mexicans aren’t the same thing.
Yes MSNBO is for these guys rotting in Jail. They have been trying to convict these guys in the press.
Oh and the then President of Mexico (it was still Vincente Fox) sent a personal letter tho the American Ambassador on this case. He wanted an example made of these two officers.
I think there is more to this case than we will ever know.
The only News groups to shout foul are FOX news and Lou Dobbs. Lou and Cafferty got into it over this case too.
Senator Diane Feinstein has also supported these officers. I trust the Senator on this. She sits on the committee that reviewed this case and has pushed for a full pardon.
I have nothing but respect for good cops.
I have nothing but contempt for the other kind.
myiq2xu,
Good post.
Also, to some here just because the person who got shot wasn’t a “good person” and waited to report it doesn’t mitigate the fact that the cops shot a fleeing suspect and then tried to cover it up.
As any prosecutor will tell you there are no “perfect victims”. Prositutues get raped and bad guys get shot illegally.
I Assume Hispanics are Hispanics because I believe in the basic good of people.
Myiq2xu-I used the term Hispanic not mexican.
I have contempt for bad cops.
I want to give these guys the benifit of the doubt…I do not think “The State” could have proved “guilt up to and including all reasonable doubt” with out manipulating the evidence and with collusion with the Judge as Sen. Feinstein (D-CA) has alleged in her findings.
These Guys Had no previous disiplinary problems.
ks- I am not disputing the cover up was wrong…it was an errorby the officers if it occurred as reported to the press by the procecutors office.
I dont trust the way the case was reported to the press by “The State” which had its own agenda in insuring these guys were found guilty.
Also, the Judge is on record saying the mandatory minimums he was forced to impose on these guys are excessive for the offense committed.
Fuzzy:
The wingers made this a big deal because these Border patrol agents shot an illegal alien from Mexico.
Since when do wingers care about criminal defendants????
I like you and I know you’re sincere – but these guys deserve to be locked up.
Also, the Judge is on record saying the mandatory minimums he was forced to impose on these guys are excessive for the offense committed.
I oppose mandatory minimums – but for everyone, not just cops who get convicted.
ks-the character of the witness is alway germaine to how the jury weighs the “truth” of the testimony of the witness.
I was a juror in a case involving an acessory to armed robbery. The states prime witness wa the guy who committed the crime.
He was offerred a sweetheart deal to turn in other people basically the guy who held the gun in the store clerks case was offered a lighter sentence if he got the other accomplices convicted. He had a history of crime and violence. His testimony was not considered credible bu “we the jury.”
The jury in the Compean/Ramos case was never allowed to here the character evidence against the prime witness in this case.
It is wrong when rape victims have to have their character assinated when they testify against the accused, but it ios Ok when material evidence to the character of his slimeball is suppressed by the prosecution and judge?
The prosecution actually willfully suppressed its knowledge of the witness activity during discovery.
Myiq2xu-if we let someone off because a policeman forgets to marandize the accussed or the evidence gathered is “fruit of the poisonous tree”…then any technical error in the case of these 2 officers deserves the same level of “justice”.
The prosecution actually willfully suppressed its knowledge of the witness activity during discovery.
Welcome to the real world, Fuzzy!
But the character of the witness doesn’t put the bullet wound somewhere besides his ass, and it doesn’t change the fact that the agents covered up what they did.
Fuzzy:
Ironically the two things you mention fall under “police misconduct.”
The only police misconduct in this case was the actions of the two agents.
“ks-the character of the witness is alway germaine to how the jury weighs the “truth” of the testimony of the witness.”
fuzzy – Bad comparison. In this case, “the witness” was the victim as opposed to, in you example, a participant in the crime who is flipping on his/her co-conspirators. His “character” should be immaterial to the undiputed facts that they agents shot him while he was fleeing and lied about it and tried to cover it up.
Now if you don’t mind I’m trying to drink myself unconscious.
LOL! Taking Arthur Silber’s advice?
Myiq – well, don’t come to my new post then. It might wake you up.
I surrender I surrender-
I seem to have fallen, and I can’t get up
Fuzzy:
I love you (in a strictly heterosexual way) but I get irritated with people who get concerned about the rights of defendants when the accused is a cop.
Poor black kid gets arrested, nobody gives a shit about his rights or the admissability of evidence.
fuzzy – Heh. Like myiq2xu said, I know you’re sincere so it’s all good.
I’m watching The 13th Warrior
I know I’m drunk and deranged, but I love this part: