Do Cops Routinely Alter Their Police Reports?

[lame54]

Do Cops Routinely Alter(Lie On) Their Police Reports?

[Fumesucker]

1. If you mean "lie on" I would say most likely..

Certainly not *all* cops but a substantial minority..

[seabeyond]

7. why do people have to cushion the lie. it is what it is. lie.... nt

[backscatter712]

I'll say it again. Police officers are professional liars.

Never trust a cop!

[ixion]

4. I agree...

you should never trust a cop. They are predators, IMO, and as such will say/do whatever to get their 'kill'.

[Joe Fields]

36. 100% agree.

[TexasObserver]

2. Standard Operating Procedure

They are trained HOW TO make a report that will support whatever it is they have done.

That's one reason they so quickly lose the ability to even appreciate that they're lying in such statements.

[DefenseLawyer]

41. Absolutely correct

They see it as simply avoiding a hassle later on. The end justifies the means.

[TexasObserver]

63. Always. It is literally part of the job.

They're taught to make cases, and they're taught how to fill in the missing pieces.

Getting other officers there to see and inducing Gates to step outside were classic manipulations by a cop to contort a basis for the arrest he wanted to make. He was insulted and mad, and this was his revenge. It happens every day, all over America, from small towns to big cities.

[TahitiNut]

50. It's just "paperwork" ... for "bureaucrats" ... a "game" ... and it's OK because we "know" the perp

... is guilty. The house-of-cards rationalizations are so common it'd be laughable if it wasn't so infuriating. Cops are the Ultimate 'Pragmatists' ... a constant demonstration of the corruption of the Ends Justify The Means attitude. Yes, there are "good cops" -- and they should not only be valued but kept in glass jars to preserve the vanishing breed. They should be studied - to find out how in the hell someone actually can preserve their integrity in a job that (literally) poses life-threatening risks when the other cops don't like them.

[TexasObserver]

64. Yes, and in many departments, trying to be a good cop will subject the person to rebuke.

There are well known cases of policemen who literally could not get officers to come give them back up, simply for reporting really corrupt police practices.

[JitterbugPerfume]

3. I think some do

they write the report in a way that supports their side of the story

Cops have huge egos , and hate being wrong about anything.

[FSogol]

5. Have you ever edited a report? Have you ever made changes as requested by your supervisor?

So editing is lying now?

(Note: I'm not commenting on any specific case here. Some cops, like everyone else in the world, lie from time to time.)

[lame54]

6. that wasn't the question...

why don't you start your own poll?

[FSogol]

9. No need, I already know that everyone makes changes to reports

Your question was "Do Cops Routinely Alter Their Police Reports?"

But, don't let me get in the way of your cop bashing.

[TexasObserver]

16. A police report that is altered is fundamentally different than your memo to the boss on widgets.

You are comparing two things fundamentally incomparable. One is a report that is supposed to be the officer's statement of what he knows at the time he made, and is a public record. It is supposed to be accurate, and it is evidence in a criminal matter.

He's not simply writing a report to please his boss.

You incorrectly dub as cop bashing a discussion of one of the most heinous parts of police abuse: the altering of evidence to fit the needs of the police, not to meet the requirements of the job or duty to the public.

[FSogol]

18. Not true. The cop writes the report and hands it to his supervisor.

The supervisor marks it up and makes revisions. Then a final report is prepared.

[TexasObserver]

25. Yes, it is true. Stop being an apologist for cops who lie.

[RaleighNCDUer]

26. If the supervisor 'makes revisions' that alter the FACTS of the report

and the officer signs off on it - what's that called?

LYING

[lame54]

28. .

[seabeyond]

8. when you edit it to a non truth, ya... it is a lie. but i saw no evidence of edit

it was a flat out lie

and no, not only do i not lie because someone has told me to, i have never had a boss tell me to lie.

[Echo In Light]

15. Also, not all 'altered' reports carry the same weight and potential re consequences

[seabeyond]

31. wow to all the people working so damn hard to justify an officer lying on an official

document.

we wonder how the right could go along with bushco lies and criminal activity. right here is a wonderful example in the making

[Joe Fields]

37. you don't have to alter a report if you're a cop. just lie right off the bat.

[seabeyond]

39. seems like not an issue. people seem to be saying, so????? nt

[Warren Stupidity]

10. alter and lie on are two different things

yes cops routinely lie on their police reports.
no, only stupid cops go back and redo the lies. the smart ones get the lies right the first time.

[BlooInBloo]

11. The attempt at "fair and balanced" is amusing, but just get rid of "alter"..

and just say "lie". It's what you really mean.

:rofl:

[Joe Fields]

38. when you're talking about cops, the only fair thing is to say they all lie.

[Jackpine Radical]

12. I know an ex-cop who jokes that whenever he took an oath in court,

the wording that played in his head was "I do solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and whatever it takes to convict the sonovabitch."

[me b zola]

29. My mother was a seamstress

In the '70's we lived next door to people whose brother was a cop in the Rampart Division (L.A.). He,the cop, paid my mother to sew a secret pocket in his LAPD uniform for his "throw away" gun. Much more common than many want to believe.

[Greyhound]

13. It always amazes me that so many simply don't understand that the police are not their friends.

They work for the state, their job is to build a case against you, everything you do or say in their presence will be recorded/witnessed and interpreted to convict you.

They lie cheat and steal as a matter of routine and their motivation is to fool or convince you to surrender your rights. That's what we pay them to do.

[Echo In Light]

22. People admire what they want...so when it comes to authority figures, easy equation.

[merh]

14. Not all cops lie on their police reports.

Not all cops are evil, unprofessional or uncaring.

It is a minority that violates policy and the law and as long as their wrongs are ignored by the profession, by their bosses and fellow cops, then the entire profession suffers.

They need to wake up and realize that they are only getting what they ask for when they defend the rogue or bad cops in their numbers.

[TexasObserver]

17. Most do, at one time or another. Some routinely.

You have a very charitable view of what police do. They almost all will lie under oath to make cases.

[merh]

23. Most people will lie to get the outcome they want.

Not charitable as much as informed, but you go ahead and peddle your version if it makes you feel better about things.

[TexasObserver]

24. But not as much as police. They do it routinely and with great ease.

If you'd spent more time in courts and less time on message boards, you might know that.

[merh]

27. LOL says someone that spends time on a message board

:rofl:

[TexasObserver]

30. Correction. Says someone who has actually caught cops lying under oath.

[merh]

33. Correction - not all cops

You spend to much time online to be able to handle all those cases in all those cities, towns, counties, parishes and states.

[TexasObserver]

42. Yes, all cops.

Thirty plus years experience, before ever posting at DU the first time. Your supposition is as wrong as your ill formed opinion.

[merh]

46. Nope, you are ill informed

In your 30 years, you could never have read all the police reports written by all the cops in this country.

To claim this type of nonsense proves only that you are want to exaggerate and your ego is easily bruised. (How dare someone call your "knowledge" into question.)

[TexasObserver]

49. I'm not a cop groupie, but an objective observer.

I didn't want to believe they all lie, and didn't until well known cops confirmed it. I suggest you read what Wambaugh and Serpico have to say on the topic.

[Ikonoklast]

52. I have two brothers that are attorneys.

One is very wealthy. One of the reasons he got that way was cops that were willing to either lie on a police report, or on the stand, under oath.

He made a fortune demolishing their lies.

Like my brother said, most cops know one inch of the law, but the problem is, the laws are a mile long.

[TexasObserver]

55. Your brother knows well the subject.

The sad truth is that police do not know or like the Constitution and the rights its provides. They see the constitution as an annoying impediment to them getting to do what they want. They can't stand lawyers, or judges, or anyone who tells them about the constitution and what it means.

They have that one inch of law knowledge on a one mile path. They know how to game the Bill of Rights, how to avoid doing their duty to uphold and defend the constitution.

You will never hear any cop anywhere say "I sure am glad we have all these Miranda rights and other rights for the accused!"

[merh]

53. I suggest you that you keep your suggestions and your broad brush

smears to yourself.

Your experience is limited and to label all cops as you do is wrong. There is just no two ways about it. To object to your exaggerations and your stereotyping does not make me a groupie. It just makes me more rational and reasonable than you have proven yourself to be.

Your flawed conclusions about me based alone on my posts in this thread only prove that you rush to judgment based on surface impressions and not based upon the facts.

To say all cops are liars, as you opine, is like saying that Yoo and Bybee prove that all lawyers are corrupt liars and swindlers who ignore the law, the truth and their ethical obligations.

[LanternWaste]

56. Is there...

Is there any objective, valid, peer-reviewed analysis to substantiate your claims?

[Joe Fields]

40. cops do lie with great ease and frequency. I know for a fact.

[merh]

47. The cops you know lie

that is the only fact you can attest to.

You cannot speak for all cops, to try to do so and to make such broad brush slams proves you are as closed minded and bigoted as others claim most cops to be.

[Joe Fields]

61. you get no brownie points from me. I don't live in a bubble...

[merh]

70. I don't either

You do like to stereotype. Do all black people like fried chicken and water melon too?

Are all lawyers shysters and liars?

Do all tall men love to play basketball?

I'm just trying to find where you draw a line when it comes to stereotyping.

[safeinOhio]

19. Remember

You have the right to remain silent
Anything you say will be misquoted and use against you.

[Joe Fields]

35. bullshit.

all cops lie on their reports, at one time or another, and many cops do it on a regular basis.

[The Wizard]

43. It is a minority that violates policy and the law

And the majority that turns a blind eye to the violations.

[merh]

48. Sadly, I do agree with your statement.

It is the "turning of a blind eye" that has caused the cop slams and broad brush assumptions that this thread is full of.

Wish that the profession would realize that and purge the ranks. Crowley should have been ostracized, not championed.

[MineralMan]

20. Yup. As if Crowley uses the word 'tumultuous' in his daily

speech. The deal is that you write up the charges according to the language in the statute. MA's disorderly conduct law contains the word "tumultuous" so it appears in the report, even if the officer really has no idea what a "tumult" is.

Were I a defense lawyer, I would ask him, on the stand, for a definition of "tumult." Not only would he not know, he probably didn't remember even writing "tumultuous" in the report.

Reports are written to enhance the description of what happened to make it match the law.

[taught_me_patience]

21. Yes

And they routinely lie on the witness stand too.

[Flaneur]

44. It's so common they evenh have a name for it: testilying.

[TexasObserver]

57. Prosecutor: "How much is two plus two?"

Police officer: "How much does it need to be?"

THAT is the grim reality of police testimony, in far too many cases.

These hundreds of cases that have resulted in innocent men going free after decades all involved cases where police hid exculpatory evidence, or pressured weak eye witnesses into being strong ones, or simply lied on the stand to help put the person away. Every case involved 12 jurors who, like some of our DUers, simply could not fathom that police lie to make cases.

Anyone who does not acknowledge that widespread lying under oath by police is a serious problem nationwide is hiding from the truth.

[asdjrocky]

32. Of course they do.

Do sales people lie on they sales reports? All groups have people who lie, just with the police it's like 99.9%.

[Joe Fields]

34. speaking from personal experience, hell yes, the cop alter their reports.

[SoCalDem]

45. "Alter", probably not, but I know there is come "creative writing" going on.

Police work is messy, by its very nature. Police meet a lot of people at their very lowest...on the worst day of their llives.

Tempers flare, emotions are raw.. Often theres's an abundance of testosterone, adrenaline & often alcohol, so the report is likely to be the "G-rated" version of events, and since the person arrested has less credibility at that moment than any other time in their lives, it's the police report that carries more weight.

[Enrique]

51. everyone is answering wrong

all of our answers should be "I don't know".

[gita]

54. I have a question for you:

When did you stop beating your wife?

[TexasObserver]

58. FYI: Domestic abuse by cops is a serious problem and not a laughing matter.

[TexasObserver]

59. The vote by DU is 92% YES.

[seabeyond]

60. yet still, excuses made, told to respect, acceptable behavior. wow. nt

[TexasObserver]

62. Without such votes, one would think the argument was much closer, eh?

If you look at this thread and see the cacophony of consternation by the cop fans, you'd think they'd have more than ten people in their camp, but they don't. It's a vocal minority that finds all things cop just swell.

[seabeyond]

65. or the cop defenders understand cops lie on reports and dont care. not relevant

to them. doesnt matter a cop lies or break law by lying on official document, that they are justified, law unto themselves, truly god like in judgment and is expected they would lie on report.....

what is the problem?

[MurrayDelph]

66. and then there are the ones who don't deliberately lie

but are just plain sloppy in their work.

Several years ago, there was a car that suddenly on the freeway right in front of my wife. My wife was able to stop in time, but the car behind her hit hers so hard that it pushed her car into the vehicle ahead of her.

When the cop wrote it up, he wrote it as she hit the stalled car and the other one hit her.

With that on her record, I had to pay an extra $500 a year for insurance for several years.

So, when I am asked at jury duty whether I would give a cop more credibility than a civilian, the answer is Hell NO.

[Fire1]

67. And 'plant' shit in people's car and on there person!!! n/t

[Supply Side Jesus]

68. *yawn*

what a educational poll this is.

[Supply Side Jesus]

69. dupe

dupe

[Donald Ian Rankin]

71. There undoubtedly exist some who do and some who don't, so the question is ambiguous.

Do you mean "do some cops..." (answer: of course) or "do all cops..." (answer: of course not).

The question one should be asking is, of course, "How common is it for cops to alter their police reports?".

But to give a meaningful answer to that question, like "30% of cops do it regularly" or "85% of cops have done it at least once", one actually needs some evidence, which makes it much harder for the pro- and anti-police factions on DU to flame war over it...