Police pressured him to confess to a murder that never happened. Now, Fontana will pay him $900,000

[Pyrite]

Police pressured him to confess to a murder that never happened. Now, Fontana will pay him $900,000

The city of Fontana has agreed to pay nearly $900,000 to a man who police 'psychologically tortured; into falsely confessing to a murder that never happened.

www.latimes.com

During a 17-hour interrogation in August 2018, Fontana Police Department officers questioned Thomas Perez Jr. about the disappearance of his father, whom Perez had reported missing. Officers alleged Perez had murdered his father and, when Perez denied the accusation, officers tried to convince him that he had forgotten the crime, according to a federal lawsuit, court records and video of the interrogation.

Throughout their lengthy questioning of Perez, officers used a variety of tactics aimed at goading him into confessing. They brought his dog into the interrogation room, told him the dog had walked through blood and would be sent away to be euthanized. They drove Perez to a dirt lot and asked him to walk around in search of his dad’s body. They told him that his father’s body was in a morgue.

“You murdered your dad,” one of the officers said, according to video of the interrogation. “Daddy’s dead because of you.”

The officers told Perez that he would have “closure” if he told them what happened. Perez repeatedly told them that he didn’t know.

Perez, who was distressed, visibly sleep-deprived and later testified that he had been denied medication for depression and other mental disorders, sobbed during the interview. At one point he tore out his hair and ripped open his shirt. When officers stepped out of the room, he tied his shoestrings around his neck in an attempt to hang himself, records and video show....

`````````````````````````

After 16 hours, Perez confessed to stabbing his father.

But there was a problem: his father was alive and well. However, police withheld this information from Perez and instead put him on a psychiatric hold.

 

[Lovebug]

That photo really bugs me.
I don't understand why they felt the need to torture this man.
Why did they target him? For what purpose? The article leaves me with so many questions.

 

[Pyrite]

That photo really bugs me.
I don't understand why they felt the need to torture this man.
Why did they target him? For what purpose? The article leaves me with so many questions.

Could be as simple as this: the police had the power to do just about whatever they wanted. And, apparently, little oversight. Hell, even the presence of video and audio didn't deter them. So, they tortured him. It was easy, perhaps fun. And it probably beat doing any real work. Another "case" solved, another win.

If his father had indeed turned out to be dead - or missing - is there any doubt the son would have been charged and convicted?

I doubt this is uncommon.

 

[bomberfox]

Could be as simple as this: the police had the power to do just about whatever they wanted. And, apparently, little oversight. Hell, even the presence of video and audio didn't deter them. So, they tortured him. It was easy, perhaps fun. And it probably beat doing any real work. Another "case" solved, another win.

If his father had indeed turned out to be dead - or missing - is there any doubt the son would have been charged and convicted?

I doubt this is uncommon.

Police also tend to love planting narcotics then try to pressure the previous officer who searched the perp into agreeing if they dont like you.

 

[Loulit01]

So the taxpayers get billed for $900,000. Anything happen to the cops?

 

[bomberfox]

So the taxpayers get billed for $900,000. Anything happen to the cops?

I think cops should have to start footing the bill.

 

[Pyrite]

So the taxpayers get billed for $900,000. Anything happen to the cops?

I don't know. But, given the fact the police got away with doing nothing to investigate a supposed murder and very nearly got away with torturing an innocent man, it looks as if the culture at the Fontana PD wouldn't include disciplining or firing the officers involved.

 

[Maidenrules29]

Police pressured him to confess to a murder that never happened. Now, Fontana will pay him $900,000

The city of Fontana has agreed to pay nearly $900,000 to a man who police 'psychologically tortured; into falsely confessing to a murder that never happened.

www.latimes.com

During a 17-hour interrogation in August 2018, Fontana Police Department officers questioned Thomas Perez Jr. about the disappearance of his father, whom Perez had reported missing. Officers alleged Perez had murdered his father and, when Perez denied the accusation, officers tried to convince him that he had forgotten the crime, according to a federal lawsuit, court records and video of the interrogation.

Throughout their lengthy questioning of Perez, officers used a variety of tactics aimed at goading him into confessing. They brought his dog into the interrogation room, told him the dog had walked through blood and would be sent away to be euthanized. They drove Perez to a dirt lot and asked him to walk around in search of his dad’s body. They told him that his father’s body was in a morgue.

“You murdered your dad,” one of the officers said, according to video of the interrogation. “Daddy’s dead because of you.”

The officers told Perez that he would have “closure” if he told them what happened. Perez repeatedly told them that he didn’t know.

Perez, who was distressed, visibly sleep-deprived and later testified that he had been denied medication for depression and other mental disorders, sobbed during the interview. At one point he tore out his hair and ripped open his shirt. When officers stepped out of the room, he tied his shoestrings around his neck in an attempt to hang himself, records and video show....

`````````````````````````

After 16 hours, Perez confessed to stabbing his father.

But there was a problem: his father was alive and well. However, police withheld this information from Perez and instead put him on a psychiatric hold.

I lived in San Bernardino CA for years. Fontana is close by. Fontana P.D. had a huge rep for having absolutely horrible officers.

 

[Pyrite]

I think cops should have to start footing the bill.
.

1) there would be no meaningful (in terms of amount) settlements, and

2) there would be a significant drop in recruitment

 

[bomberfox]

1) there would be no meaningful (in terms of amount) settlements, and

2) there would be a significant drop in recruitment

*shrugs* too bad so sad. Not our problem. Cops need to shape the **** up or get out.

 

[Pyrite]

*shrugs* too bad so sad. Not our problem. Cops need to shape the **** up or get out.

I think cop culture needs a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge adjustment, re the rights of civilians, but I think the only practical way is by forcing taxpayers to ante up huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge settlements.

 

[bomberfox]

I think cop culture needs a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge adjustment, re the rights of civilians, but I think the only practical way is by forcing taxpayers to ante up huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge settlements.

. This is so ****ing extremely naive its laughable. You think these cops give a damn?

 

[Pyrite]

. This is so ****ing extremely naive its laughable. You think these cops give a damn?

Not naive. Money talks.

Of course, the cops don't give a damn. But huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge payouts might, eventually, cause administrators to have to give a damn.

If you have an idea about how to change a stuck-in-the-rabid-right-belief-that-perps-have-no-rights-and-cops-are-invulnerable-to-negative-consequences culture, let me know.

Waiting for taxpayers to get fed up over having to ante up to cover what rogue cops do takes too long, imo.

 

[bomberfox]

Not naive. Money talks.

Of course, the cops don't give a damn. But huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge payouts might, eventually, cause administrators to have to give a damn.

They wont. Its not their money. Payouts dont work. Thanks for the hilarity though!

 

[Pyrite]

They wont. Its not their money. Payouts dont work. Thanks for the hilarity though!

I don't have any other ideas re how to change a deeply-rooted culture. I doubt many district attorneys are eager to try to prosecute individual officers for actions such as this, if only because juries tend not to convict.

If it hurts someone enough, there might eventually be accountability. But, as I've said, getting taxpayers riled up enough to try to do something about having to keep anteing up big bucks in cases such as these takes a long time.

Too long, imo.

 

[Pyrite]

So the taxpayers get billed for $900,000. Anything happen to the cops?

from the latimes article:

After the ordeal, Perez filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Fontana, which also named Officers David Janusz, Jeremy Hale, Ronald Koval, Robert Miller and Joanna Piña as defendants. The Fontana Police Department did not respond to The Times’ request for comment about the $898,000 settlement, or the officers’ status within the department.

U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee found that “a reasonable juror could conclude that the detectives inflicted unconstitutional psychological torture on Perez,” according to a court order last June.

“He testified that the officers prevented him from sleeping and deprived him of his medication,” Gee said. “There is no legitimate government interest that would justify treating Perez in this manner while he was in medical distress.”

 

[Truckstop]

Not naive. Money talks.

Of course, the cops don't give a damn. But huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge payouts might, eventually, cause administrators to have to give a damn.

If you have an idea about how to change a stuck-in-the-rabid-right-belief-that-perps-have-no-rights-and-cops-are-invulnerable-to-negative-consequences culture, let me know.

Waiting for taxpayers to get fed up over having to ante up to cover what rogue cops do takes too long, imo.

Someone on here said this before and I agree.
We need to have police officers insure themselves just like doctors for example. If you have issues and can't get insured you can't get a job. Anywhere. You can't just keep passing problem cops on to the next force that needs them. Cops would have an incentive to not have issues that could raise the rates of their insurance. I'm sure there are things that would need to be worked out, limits and such but it seems like a start.

 

[Ginger Ale]

Someone on here said this before and I agree.
We need to have police officers insure themselves just like doctors for example. If you have issues and can't get insured you can't get a job. Anywhere. You can't just keep passing problem cops on to the next force that needs them. Cops would have an incentive to not have issues that could raise the rates of their insurance. I'm sure there are things that would need to be worked out, limits and such but it seems like a start.

Not a bad idea. Like other countries, our cops need a lot more training. We have some of the least and it shows.

 

[Pyrite]

Police pressured him to confess to a murder that never happened. Now, Fontana will pay him $900,000

The city of Fontana has agreed to pay nearly $900,000 to a man who police 'psychologically tortured; into falsely confessing to a murder that never happened.

www.latimes.com

During a 17-hour interrogation in August 2018, Fontana Police Department officers questioned Thomas Perez Jr. about the disappearance of his father, whom Perez had reported missing. Officers alleged Perez had murdered his father and, when Perez denied the accusation, officers tried to convince him that he had forgotten the crime, according to a federal lawsuit, court records and video of the interrogation.

Throughout their lengthy questioning of Perez, officers used a variety of tactics aimed at goading him into confessing. They brought his dog into the interrogation room, told him the dog had walked through blood and would be sent away to be euthanized. They drove Perez to a dirt lot and asked him to walk around in search of his dad’s body. They told him that his father’s body was in a morgue.

“You murdered your dad,” one of the officers said, according to video of the interrogation. “Daddy’s dead because of you.”

The officers told Perez that he would have “closure” if he told them what happened. Perez repeatedly told them that he didn’t know.

Perez, who was distressed, visibly sleep-deprived and later testified that he had been denied medication for depression and other mental disorders, sobbed during the interview. At one point he tore out his hair and ripped open his shirt. When officers stepped out of the room, he tied his shoestrings around his neck in an attempt to hang himself, records and video show....

`````````````````````````

After 16 hours, Perez confessed to stabbing his father.

But there was a problem: his father was alive and well. However, police withheld this information from Perez and instead put him on a psychiatric hold.

Thomas Perez Jr. curls up in the fetal position with his dog after being grilled by police to confess to killing his father — who had been reported missing but was later found alive. (Screen grab from Fontana police video)

``````````````````````````

$900,000 isn't enough.

 

[Pyrite]

View attachment 67511580

Thomas Perez Jr. curls up in the fetal position with his dog after being grilled by police to confess to killing his father — who had been reported missing but was later found alive. (Screen grab from Fontana police video)

``````````````````````````

$900,000 isn't enough.

Fontana pays nearly $900,000 for ‘psychological torture’ inflicted by police to get false confession

Detectives grilled Thomas Perez Jr. for 17 hours, deprived him of medications and threatened to have his dog killed if he didn’t confess to killing his father, who was actually alive.

www.sbsun.com

...“Mentally torturing a false confession out of Tom Perez, concealing from him that his father was alive and well, and confining him in the psych ward because they made him suicidal, in my 40 years of suing the police I have never seen that level of deliberate cruelty by the police,” said Jerry Steering, Perez’s attorney in Newport Beach....

Perez agreed to the settlement rather than take the case to trial out of concern that a jury award could be overturned on appeal on grounds of qualified immunity for police. Generally, qualified immunity protects law enforcement officers unless they violate clearly established law arising from a case with nearly identical facts, according to the Legal Defense Fund.

Fontana police did not return an email seeking comment. Three of the involved officers remain employed with the department. One other officer has retired....

 

[Hamish Howl]

This is the sort of shit that makes @Luce shit bricks in rage.

 

[Pyrite]

This is the sort of shit that makes @Luce shit bricks in rage.

Me, too. I believe in the rule of law, but this? It's a mockery of the rule of law. It's the powerful ganging up on and pummeling the powerless.

Moreover, had the father been killed, the actual perpetrator would likely never have been looked for, much the less found and brought to justice.

 

[Pyrite]

Fontana pays $900,000 settlement after police interrogate man for 17 hours

After 17 hours of interrogation, Fontana police detectives finally extracted a murder confession from their man. Except there was one problem: the victim, his own father, was still alive.

www.cbsnews.com

..."I never thought that it was easy — maybe even possible to get a completely innocent person to confess to something like that," [Perez' attorney, Jerry] Steering said. "After I watched the video and watched the interrogation of Tom Perez, what I divined is that they could get you and I to confess to killing Abe Lincoln if they wanted to."

The marathon inquisition perpetrated by the Fontana Police Department was described as pure psychological torture.

"It's unbelievable. They're not amateurs, and they know what they're doing, and they know how to do it," Steering said.

Steering said even when detectives learned his father was alive, they didn't tell Perez Jr. Instead, they placed him on a psychiatric hold.

"Once they learned this, instead of telling him that ... they 5150 him," Steering said. "They place him on a civil protective custody hold, have him taken to the mental hospital, and then they tell the hospital that he's in custody and they can't have anybody contacting him."...

 

[Loulit01]

Fontana pays nearly $900,000 for ‘psychological torture’ inflicted by police to get false confession

Detectives grilled Thomas Perez Jr. for 17 hours, deprived him of medications and threatened to have his dog killed if he didn’t confess to killing his father, who was actually alive.

www.sbsun.com

...“Mentally torturing a false confession out of Tom Perez, concealing from him that his father was alive and well, and confining him in the psych ward because they made him suicidal, in my 40 years of suing the police I have never seen that level of deliberate cruelty by the police,” said Jerry Steering, Perez’s attorney in Newport Beach....

Perez agreed to the settlement rather than take the case to trial out of concern that a jury award could be overturned on appeal on grounds of qualified immunity for police. Generally, qualified immunity protects law enforcement officers unless they violate clearly established law arising from a case with nearly identical facts, according to the Legal Defense Fund.

Fontana police did not return an email seeking comment. Three of the involved officers remain employed with the department. One other officer has retired....

Wow.

 

[Peter]

They need to get rid of immunity for the police and hold them accountable when they fail to live up to the standards everyone expects.

If they're found to have broken the rules they should face the same disciplinary process as every other worker does.
I don't think that's a lot to expect from the people you pay to uphold the law.