Officers Behaving Badly: Would You Kindly Erase The Video Evidence, Please?

[Gratiot]

When Agnes Lawless and three friends were inside a Lukoil convenience store in the Northeast at 3 a.m. last August, they'd all but forgotten the fender-bender in which they'd been involved moments earlier.

There was little damage, and the other driver had left the scene, near Northeast Philadelphia Airport.

What they didn't know was that they'd been rear-ended by the son of a police officer who was on duty, and dad was about to get involved.

Lawless was standing at the counter of the store, at Comly Road and Roosevelt Boulevard, smiling and chatting with the clerk, when she was grabbed from behind and violently pushed back with a police officer's gun in her face.

"He hit me with his left hand, and he had his gun in his right hand," Lawless said. "He pushed his gun into the left side of my neck. It caused a scrape-type bruise on my neck."

After a chaotic struggle, Lawless was arrested and charged with assaulting the officer.

Lawless and her three friends, all in their early 20s, filed complaints with the Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau. But in cases in which it's a defendant's word against a police officer's, the benefit of doubt often falls to the cop.

Except when there's video.

Philadelphia Daily News

[Gratiot]

The clerk on duty the night that Lopez confronted Lawless told investigators that three times after the incident, police officers spoke with him about the security tape and that two asked if he would erase it.

An Internal Affairs investigation found no misconduct among officers who spoke with the clerk about the tape. But it concluded that Lopez had verbally abused Lawless, had jammed his gun into her face and had violated departmental procedures that night.

A hearing to determine what discipline, if any, will be imposed on Lopez is still pending.

[RightCoast]

Sounds like somebody is losing their job, and hopefully, based on the story, going to jail.

[Gratiot]

Sounds like somebody is losing their job, and hopefully, based on the story, going to jail.

I most certainly hope so.

[thundley4]

An Internal Affairs investigation found no misconduct among officers who spoke with the clerk about the tape.

Is tampering with a witness/ evidence just something that is charged on TV?

[rich_t]

I hope she sues the hell out of the cop and the city.

[RightCoast]

Is tampering with a witness/ evidence just something that is charged on TV?

Well if the cops do it it's just good followup.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Sounds like somebody is losing their job, and hopefully, based on the story, going to jail.

Really?  Call me a cynic, but it sounds like they are just phoning it in and busily trying to do nothing at all while providing the illusion of responding, since they have been completely painted into a corner by the video.  They can't avoid the fact that it happened despite desperate attempts to do so, but they can avoid actually doing anything with that information.

[NHSparky]

Sounds like somebody is losing their job, and hopefully, based on the story, going to jail.

This is Philly.  Not a chance.  He was returned to full duty a week afterwards and IAD covered his ass.

[Wineslob]

If it was me, Mr Lopez would be dealing with me...........................while off duty.


****ing asshole.