A Black Eye for the Brown and Blue
Yesterday’s news regarding an altered police report regarding the illegal gambling raid isn’t good news for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. For those of you just joining us, State Senator Glen Howard was mentioned in the original report questioning the officers, but was eliminated in the second report. When questioned about this alteration, Sheriff Frank Anderson told the Indianapolis Star he didn’t see what the big deal was, although IMPD Chief Mike Spears said it probably would have been better for the report to not be changed.
What’s disturbing about this is that this is sending a message that it is okay for authorities to alter police records. How many people have been arrested, prosecuted or sentenced because a police report might have been altered? How many defense attorneys might be salivating at the mouth over the possibility that a police report in their client’s case may have been altered? How much hard work by prosecutors has been for naught. And how many hard-working dedicated police officers’ work may now be compromised?
The ramifications for this are widespread. And if this is the new standard, I wonder if we can ever trust the department again.
