Breaking News: Gun charges dropped when video contradicts SF officer’s testimony

Bob Egelko of SF Gate reports this morning that the United States Attorneys office in San Francisco dismissed charges against Brandon Simpson after video of the arrest contradicted the arresting officers version of events.  Egelko reported, “Officer Nicholas Buckley testified that during an encounter in December, Simpson began walking quickly away from him with both hands tucked into his waistband, and was looking over his shoulder. At that point, Buckley said, he overtook Simpson, and other officers helped wrestle him to the ground and found a loaded handgun.  The video, shot from a nearby nonprofit housing building and presented by defense lawyers after Buckley’s testimony, showed Simpson walking slowly in the general direction of the officers, one hand holding a water bottle, the other at his side, before he was tackled . . . The judge ordered federal prosecutors to provide records of the proceedings to Police Chief Greg Suhr for ‘whatever action he considers appropriate.’ Breyer said the case also showed that police should be required to wear cameras at all times.”

You can read the entire piece and watch the video here: http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Gun-charges-dropped-when-video-contradicts-SF-7466109.php

This week, the F.B.I. director, James Coney, came out and said that urban murder rates were rising because officers were afraid to do their job for fear of ending up on a viral video  Unsurprisingly, he offered no proof whatsoever to back up his inflammatory claim.  You can read more about that here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/12/us/comey-ferguson-effect-police-videos-fbi.html.

This case highlights the importance of obtaining and reviewing the video evidence in any criminal case.  Officers write reports to justify their actions, in retrospect, according to their training.  To be fair, many times the video corroborates the officers version of events.  However, sometimes it differs in one or more important respects.   If your attorney doesn’t obtain and review the key video, you’re not getting the best defense.  Kudos to Mr. Simpson’s lawyers in this case.