Chicago PD Sued for Deleting Footage, Strip Searching Citizens Over Cop Car Crash

[Bob Hubbard]

Chicago Police Captain Kevin Navarro was driving a marked police car down the wrong way of a busy street when he collided head-on with a motorcycle last year.
The incident just happened to be caught on camera because a group of citizens had been video recording their friend on the motorcycle.
And they continued shooting photos and videos of the aftermath, documenting the police SUV in the wrong lane.
But by the time a multitude of cops showed up to the scene, they began arresting the citizens with cameras and deleting their footage.
The citizens were acquitted and now they are suing:

The following is from the lawsuit, which was posted by Courthouse News.

"Defendant officers observed plaintiffs using their cell phones to record the collision scene, and immediately took plaintiff Perez's cell phone and placed handcuffs on him, taking him into custody even though Perez was not doing anything illegal," the complaint states.
"Defendant officers placed Perez in the back of a police car and demanded that Perez show them how to delete the photographs he had taken with his cell phone.
"After plaintiff Perez was taken into custody, plaintiff Milton, who had also been using his cell phone to record the scene, was seated on his motorcycle, when defendant [Officers] Frahm and Hernandez approached him.
"Defendants Frahm and Hernandez grabbed plaintiff Milton, forced him off of his motorcycle, and threw him to the ground.
"Defendants Frahm and Hernandez placed plaintiff Milton in handcuffs, and then took him to a police car as well."
At the police station, "Defendant officers demanded that plaintiff Perez provide them with the password to his cell phone, so that they could delete the pictures he had taken at the scene of the collision," the complaint states.
"Defendant officers told plaintiff Perez that if he did not give them the password to his phone, he would be charged with a felony offense.
"Plaintiff Perez gave them the password, and defendant officers then deleted the pictures of the scene of the collision from plaintiff Perez's cellphone.
"While at the station, defendant officers also strip searched plaintiff Perez, in an apparent effort to see if he had any other cameras or recording devices on his person.
"Defendant officers also demanded that plaintiff Milton give them the password for his cellular telephone.
"However, plaintiff Milton refused to do so."
The cops then tried, unsuccessfully, to delete the video on Milton's phone, and falsely accused him of battery and resisting arrest, and accused Perez of assault, according to the complaint.

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http://www.pixiq.com/article/chicago-pd-sued-for-deleting-footage


2 questions:

1 - Is deleting evidence a crime?

2 - Under what legal reason, may a law enforcement officer delete photos and/or video from a civilians camera?

 

[MJS]

http://www.pixiq.com/article/chicago-pd-sued-for-deleting-footage


2 questions:

1 - Is deleting evidence a crime?

2 - Under what legal reason, may a law enforcement officer delete photos and/or video from a civilians camera?

1) IMO yes

2) IMO, there isn't any.

Sorry, but the cops were in the wrong here. Why was the cop driving the wrong way? Was he doing it for the sake of doing it? Was the too lazy to take the long way around to get where ever he was going? Was he enroute to a call? What was the nature of the call? IMO, the only reason why they harassed the other people is because they knew they were screwed and they went into cover up mode. Strip searching? Unless there's a good reason for that, someone under arrest is usually just patted down.

I wasn't there, so all I can go by is what I'm reading, but going on that, I'd say that they (the cops) as I said, are in the wrong. Perhaps some of the LEOs on here, can chime in.

 

[Tgace]

Looks like a #$%@-up to me.