Category: Brady

Two unnamed officers of the Fall River Police Department in Massachusetts were present when fellow officer Michael Pessoa used force while arresting an individual on February 12, 2019. Pessoa submitted an arrest report; the officers did not. A few hours after the incident, the officers were ordered by their superiors to each complete the Department’s “Use of Defensive Tactics Report” because the arrestee was observed to have a bloody…

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Cody Lane served as a patrol officer in the Marion County Oregon Sheriff’s Office for over ten years. On the evening of November 24, 2017, Lane worked the graveyard shift while his girlfriend celebrated her birthday at a local bar. In the early hours of November 25, 2017, Lane’s girlfriend asked Lane to follow her home as she had a malfunctioning headlight. Lane, already in the area, agreed to…

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Shon Latty is a deputy sheriff in Polk County, Oregon. District Attorney Aaron Felton placed Latty on the local Brady list that, in the County, “serves to identify law enforcement officers who are determined to be categorically unqualified from testifying in court.” The Sheriff’s Department reacted by reassigning Latty from patrol to corrections work on the grounds that he could no longer testify in court. Latty sued Felton, claiming…

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Mike Harris was hired by the Chelan County, Washington Sheriff’s Department in 1995. In July 2012, Harris advanced to the Chief of Patrol. Harris’ duties as Chief of Patrol included overseeing the Department’s armory. In August 2013, Harris investigated a missing Colt M16 rifle the County had purchased from the Army. In 2011, Undersheriff John Wisemore had signed documents indicating the rifle was in the armory, but range masters…

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  Litigation between police officer Adam Hubacz and the Village of Waterbury, Vermont has been going on since 2012. While employed as a police officer by the Village, Hubacz applied for a law enforcement position in another town. He participated in a pre-polygraph examination interview, which was a required condition of the application process. During the interview, Hubacz admitted to several acts, including cheating on a police exam, insurance…

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Deputies Matthew Griebel and Bryan Lukich work for the Will County, Illinois, Sheriff’s Department. In 2011, Griebel signed a Last Chance Agreement in which he agreed that he made inconsistent statements during an Internal Affairs investigation. Griebel hit a deer with his patrol car and then falsely claimed that the accident was caused by a reckless driver. Griebel reiterated the falsehood under oath at an administrative hearing. Lukich also…

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Stephanie Brown is an officer with the Georgetown, Texas Police Department. In January 2013, Brown was investigated by the Department because Eric Poteet, with whom Brown had formerly been in a relationship, alleged that Brown had been taking his prescription medication and had ingested mescaline. As a result of this investigation, Wayne Nero, the Georgetown Police Chief, concluded that Brown had used Poteet’s prescription drugs, ingested mescaline, and been…

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A California statute outlines the circumstances under which a county must provide independent counsel to a sheriff. Under the statute, the sheriff is entitled to counsel “in any case where the County counsel or the district attorney would have a conflict of interest in representing the assessor or the sheriff.” Francisco Rivero is the Sheriff of Lake County. The local District Attorney announced intention to designate Rivero as a…

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More than a decade ago, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office began to take the position that the Supreme Court’s decision in Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) applied to law enforcement disciplinary decisions. In Brady itself, the Court had held that the prosecution in a criminal case has an obligation to disclose to a criminal defendant any potentially exculpatory information. The significant development in the Los Angeles…

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