"selective" missing videos

I was pulled over at 2pm because I had no tags on my newly purchased used auto. The officer proceeded to call the towing co. because the car had back registration of 2 years. When I exited the vehicle he requested that I hand over my purse; before doing so I asked him why and what was the problem. Too late he snatched my purse from me and pretty much disected it for a serious 5 minutes. Last zippered pocket he found drugs. I believe that dispatch perhaps linked me with other drug (meth) offenders and I was detained, illegally searched and since convicted. From day one I requested the video that was considered standard equiptmentin OC Sheriff Dept vehicles. They returned to court approx. 4 times, informing the court it had been mailed to my attorney. My last day in court (no trial) the judge asked them where the video was and they said they were unable to locate it. See, the police report said the officer feared I had a weapon in my purse along with other ficticous info on this same report. I had nothing on my record other than a dui some 6.5 years earlier. A weapon? I am a conservative looking 37 year old female who was in a sun dress, sandals, and had voluntarily pulled into a gas station lot after they signaled me to do so. Sorry this is so long but my question is of great concern for others in Orange County. I know of 2 other people that requested a video only to be told it could not be found. Who follows up on missing videos when it is pretty clear the OCSD viewed the videos and hid the results. Most people do not have the money to pursue this kind of thing. Keep in mind if he was really concerned about me having a weapon he would not have had need to look into every nook and cranny of my purse. Granted I was arrested and convicted of a felony but who checks on this kind of practice conducted by officers who swear to uphold the law? Selective evidence? Reports that suit the end result? Sounds like the Mexican government and the horror stories we have all heard about if ever arrested over the border.Opinions, thoughts?????????

what if?

tamsen, what if you got together with the others you know who've requested :unfindable tapes and together hired a lawyer or went to the media, how similar are you trelative circumstances anyway? if what you say is true there's clearly corruption, if you turn up the heat arat might scurry out of the bush

The problem in going to the media is this. Unless you knew me or were my family, a majority of the population (conservatives leading in Orange County) would not care as long as the end justifies the means and in my case I would be depicted as a drug offender stopped by what ever means were necessary. This will continue to bother me for years to come. I do not deny I was deserving of arrest but our Country has a handbook packed full of penal code violations. Most of us are not aware of how many thousands there are. Get the book. You would be amazed. Cops? Their laws? My experience with The Police Department and the CHP is far different from the Sheriffs department. I am a felon but continue to have respect for just about any other law enforcement agency. The Sheriffs department (my opinion) has a few good eggs and a whole lot of something else. The Jails? Training ground for a dirty cop. You put a whole lot of people (inmates) in a building that do not want to be there; add an entire staff of babysitters that are counting their years until they can be on patrol or ANYWHERE but the miserable jail; and you have a breeding groung for an alarming amount of disgruntled employees that have been given the power to abuse their authority and carry a gun to boot. S-C-A-R-Y

consider this

tamsen, cdvolk makes a good point but I'm guessing that you and the other 1 or 2 people you know are not the only people with this problem, at least not with some kind of a questionable situation with the department. you see, one of the things that allows the corruption to continue is the that the victims don't know each other, think they're the only one and don't have resources, but if a little of the word gets out, the others who thought they were alone feel encouraged to tell their stories and they can join you, be careful about getting too much of a "the world is against me" attitude (no offense to cdvolk) because there's no such thing as an isolated incident with this kind of thing, if hte department operates that way then there will be plenty of others who've been railroaded, you need to find them