Ex-police chief in Florida gets prison time for framing black people

[left-of-center2012]

A former Florida police chief will serve three years in prison for a department conspiracy to frame black people for crimes they did not commit.

A federal judge in Miami handed out the sentence Tuesday against ex-Biscayne Park chief Raimundo Atesiano, 53, who pleaded guilty to ordering officers to falsely arrest black people for unsolved burglaries.

Three former officers have also pleaded guilty in the case, which centered around Atesiano's efforts to improve the department's crime-solving rate.

Two ex-officers, Charlie Dayoub and Raul Fernandez, were each sentenced to a year in prison for falsely arresting a 16-year old juvenile for four burglaries.The third, Guillermo Ravelo, will serve 27 months for two separate incidents: falsely arresting one individual with two residential burglaries and another with five vehicle robberies, both without probable cause.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/11/27/florida-police-chief-sentenced-framing-black-people/2132834002/

[leftynyc]

1. For anyone who wonders

why so many people don't trust the police. Exhibit A. I hope the people convicted of those crimes bankrupt that putrid state.

[mr_lebowski]

2. Huh ... some ACTUAL justice? That's amazing ...

I'm sure this rare, but HEARTENING application of proper Justice ... had nothing to do with the fact that the Sheriff's name is Raimundo Atesiano and 2 of the 3 guilty officers are Guillermo Ravelo and Raul Fernandez.

I'm *sure* if they were named Steven Goodolboy, Jimmy Joe Buford and Tommy Lee Lynch ... the same sentences would've been handed down.

[WeekiWater]

4. Three years out of a possible ten.

Allowed to care for his mother before turning himself in.

This is another display of how unequal our justice system is.

I'm still with you that it is at least nice that this was tried and they were found guilty. Picking up minorities with a record and grilling them is nothing new in this state. Holder really brought a lot of our problems to the national spotlight. Unfortunately, much of it has died down with the pending insanity that is our current Federal government.

[WeekiWater]

3. We know how to do it.

I cannot begin to tell you how much I love Florida. Many of the people and the amazing ecosystems.

That said, we have some serious issues that we are facing. Our ecosystems are under relentless attack and our incoming governor will most likely care about it even less than Scott. Standards for becoming a police officer have become so low that it is a true joke. I had a run-in with three officers not long ago and was astonished at how they were not only on the lower end with respect to intelligence, they also lacked basic common sense. Racial profiling is also a very well known thing in our state. The impact of oppressive forces can be seen in just about every county in the state. We are a truly segregated state and keep it that way. It's not that nothing is done to integrate, there are forces in play to flat out maintain segregation. I know this happens across the country but we are pro's at it in Florida. Our police are on the front lines when it comes to maintaining that status but are far from the only enemies of minorities.

What these officers did is nothing new. It is a Florida law enforcement tactic.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

5. needs more justice

It's a grotesque distortion of their jobs when protecting citizens is of lesser importance than the numbers on their reports. The freedom of a person should not be sold so cheaply.