The Dallas County district attorney's office is reviewing dozens of cases filed by six Dallas police officers after the officers assisted in an arrest that put a man behind bars for 10 months on what prosecutors say were false charges.
Documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News show prosecutors concluded that Senior Cpl. David Nevitt lied when he said Thomas Hannon had a gun and drugs in his possession when the six officers participated in Hannon's arrest outside a North Dallas hotel in August 2007. Attorney Phil Burleson said Nevitt denies any wrongdoing in this case, as well as any other cases.
"He did not lie to the district attorney's office," Burleson said. "He has no reason to. He believed at the time [of the Hannon arrest] that it was the correct individual."
Hannon, a convicted felon, was jailed until last March, when prosecutors dropped the charges because Hannon's attorney obtained a videotape that showed another man carrying a bag containing the gun and drugs.
The case calls into question the integrity of a police department still recovering from a 2001 scandal in which dozens of false arrests were made after fake drugs were planted on innocent people by police informants.
"I would hope that everybody has learned the lessons of the fake-drug scandal," said Bill Wirskye, who is representing two clients with cases involving officers who participated in the Hannon arrest. "I have serious concerns about their credibility and the possibility of a pattern of illegal searches."
All six officers involved in Hannon's arrest – Nevitt, Lawrence Coddington, Jerry Dodd, David Durica, Frank Poblenz and Randy Sundquist – were named in a federal lawsuit filed last month alleging a violation of his civil rights.
Durica said he had not been notified of any investigation and denied any wrongdoing. "No one has approached or asked me about anything," he said. The other officers did not return calls seeking comment.
None of the officers has been accused of any criminal misconduct, and a timetable for completion of the district attorney's review was not available.
The prosecutors and the district attorney's office declined to publicly discuss the case.
Two prosecutors say in the documents obtained by The News that Nevitt told them he saw Hannon carrying the bag with his own two eyes, but he later changed his account, telling the prosecutors that he actually saw Hannon carrying the bag only on video surveillance footage.
"This is a case that really makes you question the integrity of all of their arrests in any situation," said Scott Palmer, Hannon's attorney. "The probable cause affidavit is absolutely diametrically opposed to reality. So therefore it must be a lie. It can't be a mistake."
Hannon's criminal history includes a three-year sentence for methamphetamine possession and unlawfully carrying a gun while on probation. He was released from prison on parole in 2005.
He said he first met Nevitt in the summer of 2007 when Nevitt and other officers showed up at his apartment asking to search it. Hannon said he refused, and Nevitt became angry but left. Hannon said he was evicted by apartment managers the same day.
More Information and Police Report: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/yahoolatestnews/stories/021709dnmetdpd.4035ff0.html
1 comment:
I think that Bill Wirskye is a man that has a very good point
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