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If only the public knew how easy it is for a cop to frame someone for drunk driving….say, a cop who has a quota to meet or is bucking for promotion.  See, for example, some of my earlier posts:  79 DUI Cases Thrown Out: False Police Reports, DUI Reports Falsely Certified by Arresting Cops and Pre-Written DUI Arrest Reports: A Smoking Gun. 

The only thing unusual about this news article is that this cop was caught…and then covered up.
 

Memo Suggest Utah Trooper Steed Was Falsifying Arrest Reports

Salt Lake City, UT.  Oct. 11, 2012 – A supervisor warned in 2010 that Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Lisa Steed, who is under investigation by her own agency, was frequently arresting people for driving under the influence of drugs who had no drugs in their systems.

The supervisor, Sgt. Rob Nixon, wrote a memorandum discussing the questionable arrests and implying Steed was falsely accusing drivers of impairment. Nixon wrote the memo after reviewing 20 of Steed’s arrests for drug DUIs….

"This is something that needs to be addressed before defense attorneys catch on and her credibility along with the DUI squad’s credibility is compromised," Nixon wrote.

A UHP spokesman declined to comment on the memo Wednesday.

"We’re considering that a protected document so we’re not at liberty to discuss the document," said Dwayne Baird, the spokesman…

The memo is "extraordinary," said Joseph Jardine, a Salt Lake City defense attorney who earlier this year successfully petitioned a judge to gain access to Steed’s discipline record. Jardine said the memo was not included in the records he viewed. The Salt Lake Tribune showed Jardine and Skordas the memo Tuesday.

Jardine said the memo shows the UHP hid Steed’s problems from defense lawyers. Legal precedent requires prosecutors also to have been aware of the memo and disclose it to defendants, Jardine said.

"That’s crazy," Jardine said of withholding the memo. "That’s exactly contrary to what the law requires them to do."…

Incredible!  The supervising cop wrote a secret departmental memo saying that they need to do something "before defense attorneys catch on and her credibility…is compromised."  Never mind the innocent people arrested and convicted: the important thing is that this dirty cop's credibility isn't compromised!

But there's more to this story — from five years earlier…
 

Trooper of the Year Named

Salt Lake City, UT.  Nov. 12, 2007 — Utah Highway Patrol Officer Lisa Steed is the Utah Highway Patrol's new Trooper of the Year. The Utah Department of Public Safety made the announcement after Steed made more than 200 DUI arrests this year…

Sgt. Shane Nordfelt is Steed's immediate supervisor with UHP. Nordfelt says the award is in recognition of outstanding police work and a community-based approach to public service…

Nordfelt called her ''a little ball of fire and energy."

Fellow troopers say Steed has a remarkable record of police work. In her five-year career, she's made more than 750 arrests for driving under the influence of a controlled substance, and more than 1,200 total arrests.

Thus far in 2007, Steed has stopped more than 2,000 cars.

No comment necessary….

(Thanks to Ari Weiner and Joe.)
 

DUI BLOG

The latest news fresh from the front lines of MADD’s "War on Drunk Driving": 

DUI Cases in Jeopardy After Richmond County Deputy Admits Falsifying Readings


Richmond County, GA. Nov. 19 – The forced resignation of a deputy assigned to the DUI task force could affect the prosecution of hundreds of cases, according to those in the legal community.

Erik Norman faced mandatory resignation from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 19 after a prosecutor reported that Norman told her he had falsified readings from a hand-held alcohol-testing device.

Norman told the department’s internal affairs division that he had done it only “once or twice” but couldn’t recall exactly which cases were involved.

Norman’s credibility is gone now, no matter how many times he falsified readings, said Augusta attorney Robert “Bo” Hunter, who prosecuted drunken driving cases as the Richmond County State Court solicitor from 1988 to 1996…

Even worse, Hunter said, is that there probably were people charged with driving under the influence who shouldn’t have been.

Norman, hired as a jailer in July 2002, was transferred to the DUI task force in March 2009. An accurate count of his DUI convictions cannot be made through court records, but during his time on the task force, he arrested an estimated 250 to 400 people.

State Court Solicitor Charles Evans said his office has 62 pending DUI cases in which Norman was the arresting officer. Each will have to be judged on its merits to determine whether to continue prosecuting them as DUIs. If necessary, the office will bring in Norman as a trial witness, Evans said.

The Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Coun­cil is investigating to determine whether Norman can keep his certification, said Ryan Powell, its director of operations. Unless he is arrested on felony charges or his certification is suspended, Norman is free to work as an officer, Powell said.

Falsifying evidence is a felony – making false statements – but prosecuting Norman for it would be difficult, District Attorney Ashley Wright said. A prosecutor would have to prove in which case Norman falsified the results, and there is no way to uncover those cases without Norman’s admission. He claimed he didn’t know which cases were falsified…

Do you really think this Georgia deputy is the only cop out there falsifying breathalyzer readings to justify his DUI arrest?
 

DUI BLOG