Posted by Police Abuse Allegation: Pre-Damage Control? MJEOL Bullet #123 On April 8, out of the blue, Exaggeration Tonight (Entertainment Tonight) ran a story with a man claiming to be Michael Jacksons cellmate when Jackson was booked last year in California. Jackson says he was mistreated by the police during that time. Is this new report from this alleged cellmate a way of getting a anti-Jackson voice on the record if the Attorney General comes down in Jacksons favor or concludes anything other than a full acquittal of the officers behavior? To refute those charges, the current sheriff of Santa Barbara, Jim Anderson, showed heavily edited footage of Jackson in the hanger on the way to the police station. Of course they were on their best behavior in the hanger because they knew they were being recorded and that the tape could possible be used for the future. For the record, Jackson never claimed he was abused in the police hanger on the way to the station. However, Anderson, suspiciously, did not show any footage at all from inside the police station when Jackson was being booked. It is estimated that Jackson spent over an hour inside the station. Anderson only showed a small fraction of footage that would have been taken at the time. Now someone has apparently had the idea to bring out an alleged cellmate, who was not present with Jackson at every point of his booking process, to do what seems to be pre-damage control about this situation. This probation violator was trotted out on ET to attempt to paint Jackson as a liar. What genius had the bright idea to use a convicted parole violatorhighly subject to blackmail and still under the watchful eye of police where he residesto attempt to call Jackson a liar?? The bigger question, however, is why the sudden shift in storylines? Has the prosecution, their PR firm and their sympathizers/cronies become so distraught at the crumbling molestation case that theyve now decided to push this convicts story about police abuse? This comes on the heels of reports pointing to the 93 accuser not cooperating with the prosecution and possibly not testifying in front of the grand jury after-all; on the heels of a lame attempt to claim a 2nd accuser from 93, which turned out not to exist; and on the heels of the defense request to present to the grand juryby way of binders100 items and 61 exhibits which point towards Jacksons innocence. Has it become so painfully obvious that the molestation case is riding on the rims that an unconfirmed, unsubstantiated and uncorroborated story from a convict and parole violator becomes gospel? Could this in fact be pre-damage control? The investigation has been ongoing since the Anderson asked the Attorney General of California to come in and investigate. At the time the investigation began, Jackson attorney Mark Geragos said he welcomed the AG investigation and asked him to also investigate the way the entire prosecution of Jackson was being handled. To further the nonsense, former sheriff of Santa Barbara, Jim Thomas, was quoted in that ET report as saying that the police wouldnt have been that stupid as to rough Jackson up. What Mr. Thomas is not mentioning is that there have been incredibly stupid lapses in judgment from both the prosecution and the sheriffs department already. Stupid move #1: First, we had Tom Sneddon, ole mad hog err I mean mad dog himself making jokes at the first press conference as if it was a Saturday Night Live skit. Ridiculous. Stupid move #2: Next, Sneddon all but called LA child services workers a bunch of incompetents by proclaiming their findings (unfounded) to be irrelevant. He went on to say that the department had a lot of problems. Im sure had their results been in his favor, he would have been trumpeting the information from the rooftops. But it has also come out that the 2 month Santa Barbara investigation, right in his own back yard, from Feb-April of 2003 partially relied on that very LA child services investigation. Ridiculous. Stupid move #3: The current Sheriff Jim Anderson actually claimed that he can and will take Jacksons statement of abuse on the 60 Minutes interview as a formal complaint. There was no formal complaint filed by Jackson most likely because the same officers who roughed him up have buddies investigating both the claims of abuse and the molestation allegation against him. Anderson then further steps in it by proclaiming, even against the advice from the Attorney General of California, that he can and will attempt to pursue charges of filing a false police report against Jackson. Even though Jackson never filed a police report and has never been proven to be lying about the police abuse, Anderson made these statements as fact. Lets not even get into the blatant disregard for both California law and the comments by the Attorney General. Ridiculous. Stupid move #4: Sheriff Anderson practically begging for more alleged victims to come forward during a press conference carried around the world. Ridiculous. All this to show a pattern of behavior/ pattern of stupidity that would tend to point towards a lack of correct judgment concerning Jackson. Hence, it could be more likely than not that they would be stupid enough to rough Jackson up. There is definitely something to Jacksons allegations or else the Attorney General(AG) wouldnt still be investigating the case. He would have long since come down on the side of the police and ended the investigation. The AG, already hearing comments from Anderson planning to disregard California law, may want to be very thorough. It is a well known secret that Jackson is by far not the only person to claim police abuse by the Santa Barbara County sheriffs deputies. Gary Dunlap is an attorney currently suing Tom Sneddon in federal court for $10 million for witness tampering, racketeering, invasion of civil rights, and other things. He said, during an MJJF Talk Radio interview that they:
they settle these cases. They dont take them to trial. They settle them, and they settle them with confidential settlement agreements, which I think is highly inappropriate. So that the public never is aware of these casesof these various excessive force casesexcessive prosecution cases because they settle them under confidential agreements. (see Transcript // Audio).
So Jackson settles an incredibly suspicious case in 93 and hes demonized. But the sheriffs department supposedly has a long string of excessive force case settlements– which could tend to show a pattern of behavior and support Jacksons allegations against themand theyre given the benefit of the doubt?? Ridiculous. As for Mr. Parole Violator, his 15 seconds of fame may give those prosecution sympathizers hope, but it still remains to be seen if his story is the current district attorneys PR firms way of doing pre-damage control on this issue. -MJEOL