It would almost seem like a parody story from The Onion but, frighteningly, it is absolutely true. The Riley County, Kansas Police Department has admitted that they have made the choice not to video record suspects arrested for DUI at the station because they were losing too many cases. Here is this hilarious and shameful story. The video recording equipment, paid for by taxpayers, is intentionally not being turned on during the breath testing procedure at the station because defense lawyers were “using the videos to poke holes” in cases. In other words, the videos which clearly depicted the truth about what happened during the breath test, what was said or not said, whether the person refused to take a test or not, the post-arrest interrogation of suspects, and all other EVIDENCE developed at the police station is being intentionally avoided or destroyed because law enforcement is afraid that the truth would get in the way of convictions. This is especially despicable in a time in which the rest of the country is pushing for increased video recording by police and even passing laws that require it so that there is objective evidence about what happened in an incident. The Riley County PD has the equipment and is able to make recordings, but will not because they are afraid of losing cases. Wow! Every juror in the Manhattan area ought to have reasonable doubt about anything and everything that was intentionally not video recorded by this agency. Clearly, they have a lot to hide.
Obviously, it is much easier for a police officer to just come to court and testify that everything was done properly during the breath test, that the person didn’t burp or put anything in his or mouth, and/or that the person gave a full confession at the jail rather than to have a video recording that might show otherwise or that someone arrested for a DUI maybe was actually innocent. Video is extremely important now and is absolutely the most crucial evidence in every Kansas DUI cases. I cannot possibly count how many DUI cases we have won or that otherwise turned on events clearly depicted on a video that were the exact opposite of what a witness testified to. It is the best evidence of what really happened. A person arrested for a DUI has the incentive to either lie or even subconsciously be biased in favor of getting himself out of trouble. On the other hand, though, a police officer has the incentive to protect his arrest, prove that he was right, and to get a conviction. So, each person involved in a DUI case is biased in some way because we are all human. The only unbiased evidence of what really happened is the video recording. DUI lawyers have to get all possible audio and video recordings and have to watch/listen to it all. If the officer did something wrong, the video should show it, and the prosecution, defense and court should know about it.
If the officers are doing what they are supposed to do, if the breathalyzer really works as advertised, and if the person is obviously drunk, that should all be abundantly clear on the video recording. If the officer didn’t follow protocol, if the breath test machine malfunctioned, or the person arrested looks good on the video shouldn’t judges and juries know that? Why would an agency sworn to uphold the law intentionally hide evidence or prevent it from existing in the first place? Again, it is sad and shameful and, amazingly, they are not even denying it and no one seems to care. I would imagine that defense attorneys will point this out to the judges in Riley County. It will be interesting to see whether the courts will take any action as a result of this policy of obfuscation.