SmarterthanYou
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http://gothamist.com/2010/12/24/despite_airtight_alibi_nypd_still_t.php
Despite Man's Alibi, NYPD Still Thinks He's The Perp
Earlier this week Shane Rhooms, who earlier had spent three weeks in prison for allegedly firing at police officers, was cleared of all charges when video and cell phone records showed he was clearly at a reggae concert at Webster Hall when the Flatbush shootings occurred. But the police aren't backing off their story. Not only did a spokesman say on Tuesday that they "remain skeptical of the purported alibi" but then Police Commissioner Ray Kelly went and offered more support for the officers who made the ID Wednesday.
NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday that investigators were sticking by their guns that Shane Rhooms is their man.
"The officers still stand by the identification of the individual," Kelly said. "This [decision to free him] is a determination that was made by the district attorney."
But District Attorney Charles Hynes said the evidence is clear Rhooms could not have been the man who opened fire on officers in East Flatbush. The charges against Rhooms, 22, were dropped Tuesday after surveillance footage and cell phone records placed him at a Manhattan concert during the shooting.
"In this case, both the cell phone records and a video with the date and time of a location provided an airtight alibi for the defendant," Hynes said.
Maybe he should have done a little more research into who he was defending?
The Daily News looked into the cops who fingered Rhooms in the first place and what they found doesn't looks great. Particularly, the fact that over his 13-year-career, Lt. Robert Henderson has cost the city $500,000 over eight court settlements. One lawyer who has sued the cop on behalf of clients five times told the paper that "it seems clear to me he has made multiple false arrests in the hope of finding contraband." To which Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne bitchily responded, "The lieutenant put his life on the line, which is more than a plaintiff's lawyer will do."
Rhooms' lawyer, meanwhile, is pissed that the NYPD is still talking smack about his client even after he provided an alibi. In a statement yesterday he wrote: “We are extremely concerned with the NYPD’s posture that the officers and investigators remain confident that Mr. Rhooms was involved in this crime. This position confirms that the Blue Wall is alive and well at all levels of the NYPD and should be of great concern to all citizens."
cops, must never admit they were wrong.
Despite Man's Alibi, NYPD Still Thinks He's The Perp
Earlier this week Shane Rhooms, who earlier had spent three weeks in prison for allegedly firing at police officers, was cleared of all charges when video and cell phone records showed he was clearly at a reggae concert at Webster Hall when the Flatbush shootings occurred. But the police aren't backing off their story. Not only did a spokesman say on Tuesday that they "remain skeptical of the purported alibi" but then Police Commissioner Ray Kelly went and offered more support for the officers who made the ID Wednesday.
NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Wednesday that investigators were sticking by their guns that Shane Rhooms is their man.
"The officers still stand by the identification of the individual," Kelly said. "This [decision to free him] is a determination that was made by the district attorney."
But District Attorney Charles Hynes said the evidence is clear Rhooms could not have been the man who opened fire on officers in East Flatbush. The charges against Rhooms, 22, were dropped Tuesday after surveillance footage and cell phone records placed him at a Manhattan concert during the shooting.
"In this case, both the cell phone records and a video with the date and time of a location provided an airtight alibi for the defendant," Hynes said.
Maybe he should have done a little more research into who he was defending?
The Daily News looked into the cops who fingered Rhooms in the first place and what they found doesn't looks great. Particularly, the fact that over his 13-year-career, Lt. Robert Henderson has cost the city $500,000 over eight court settlements. One lawyer who has sued the cop on behalf of clients five times told the paper that "it seems clear to me he has made multiple false arrests in the hope of finding contraband." To which Deputy Police Commissioner Paul Browne bitchily responded, "The lieutenant put his life on the line, which is more than a plaintiff's lawyer will do."
Rhooms' lawyer, meanwhile, is pissed that the NYPD is still talking smack about his client even after he provided an alibi. In a statement yesterday he wrote: “We are extremely concerned with the NYPD’s posture that the officers and investigators remain confident that Mr. Rhooms was involved in this crime. This position confirms that the Blue Wall is alive and well at all levels of the NYPD and should be of great concern to all citizens."
cops, must never admit they were wrong.