The police changed the facts and narrative in my report

[Q333]

It's no easy thing to simply erase and destroy a report. In fact, if THAT happened, it is very likely a crime. I'd be curious to know what their explanation is for this and whether both reports exist in the same file, or, not.

Are you being sued? Are you suing someone? Are you being prosecuted? If none of those events are occurring, then the matter is - from a legal perspective - over. You cannot force the police to look into the issue if they do not want to. You cannot force them to write another report, replace the second one with the first, or do anything at all. You cannot even force them to turn over any documents absent a court order. If you want to force them to turn over a report you will have to speak with an attorney to find out how much it might cost to sue the police department and proceed with a public records' request and hope that the report as you originally believe you saw it still exists or will be turned over to you.

That's a personnel matter. You have to complain to the agency. But, as I mentioned, you cannot force them to do anything.

Out here there would be no such alteration after the first report was written and approved. At least, not if anyone wanted to keep their job. What might motivate someone to change a report over what is, essentially, not a huge matter is befuddling.

It's all in a computer. Simply highlight and delete. No folder exists. The first report disappeared Hillary-Clinton-style. However, it remains in the memory of myself and another Sergeant.

I don't want the report or want it changed. I want them to know that reports are being severely altered with incidents of bodily injury being removed.

Yes. It's out of my hands now. I've filed a complaint, if they chose to do nothing, so be it. But at least the parties involved will be questioned and if nothing else, understand the repercussions of what they did. After talking to the Sergeant yesterday, I'm pretty sure he'll say something to somebody.

I'm happy to hear that as all of us would like to trust the police. Obviously the police are protecting this connected family, the details of which remain to be uncovered and may very well remain a mystery. Again, this is not the first time an issue such as this has been addressed with this Police department. If the details of what they did got out, it would no doubt hurt their reputations and status. Remember, they tried to get a babysitter arrested and fired because SHE MADE THEM COME HOME FROM A PARTY.

 

[quincy]

Obviously, I haven't made that accusation in public. In my complaint I stated that I had proof that the report was changed but don't accuse anyone. Numerous people had access to that report. I'm not running around town blabbing about it. Not everyone on this board posting is a total idiot but thanks. You understand, don't you, that people come to this board for advice and also to vent?


I don't need a lawyer unless sort of legal action begins. He's just going to tell me to call Chief of Police (done) and file a complaint with the DA's office (done).

A correction, Q333. You DID make your accusations public. That is why your posts in this thread were edited.

From what you previously posted, and because your village is small, had anyone from your area read your posts prior to the FA-editing, the readers would have been able to easily identify the subject of your rants. In fact, I am not even a resident of your area and I was able to figure out who you have been ranting about.

Although I agree with you that not everyone who posts on this board is a total idiot, nor are the majority who post to this forum idiots, there are a few idiots who need to have their rants edited to protect the subjects of their rants and also to protect the idiots from having their own posts wind up as evidence against them in a defamation suit.

 

[Q333]

Really Quincy? You figured out exactly who I was talking about from the name pit bull?? None of the officers were ever named. And it's not a small village and I don't reside in it.

And for those of you actually interested or trying to help, a reporter is who I
needed to contact. Not a lawyer, not the Police Chief, not the officers involved.
He has handled many of the prior corruption scandals with the department in the past. He handles the police beat and they are required to release all incident reports to him within a certain amount of time but they never released any version of my report. He is going to discuss everything with the PC tomarrow. He said, to his credit, that the PC appears to be truly blindsided each time this happens. So, it's out of my hands now

Thanks for giving me a place to rant.

 

[quincy]

Really Quincy? You figured out exactly who I was talking about from the name pit bull?? None of the officers were ever named. And it's not a small village and I don't reside in it.

And for those of you actually interested or trying to help, a reporter is who I
needed to contact. Not a lawyer, not the Police Chief, not the officers involved.
He has handled many of the prior corruption scandals with the department in the past. He handles the police beat and they are required to release all incident reports to him within a certain amount of time but they never released any version of my report. He is going to discuss everything with the PC tomarrow. He said, to his credit, that the PC appears to be truly blindsided each time this happens. So, it's out of my hands now

Thanks for giving me a place to rant.

You forget that you included the name of your village and the mayor's name. The police force in your village is small enough that ANY ONE of the officers could potentially support a defamation claim against you. And, yes, the village is small. The population of the village is under 1200 people.

A reporter for a newspaper often will have the resources necessary to investigate complaints against police officers but the reporter has to be as careful as you do about making statements of wrongdoing without proof to support those statements. If the reporter is a journalist, he will know this.

And, if you decide to visit the forum again, remember that this forum is not a place to rant. It is a place to address legal questions and concerns about the law. Ranting gets in the way of any advice that might be offered because we have to sort through all of the nonsense to locate the facts.

Good luck.