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| NEWS > 19 March 2007 |
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Corrupt cop wants charges
TWO years ago he was paraded around as NSW Police's most corrupt officer – yet former Detective-Sergeant Chris Laycock remains free with not one charge levelled against him.
The situation has reached the surreal point that even the man accused of some of the worst corruption crimes since the Wood royal commission is himself questioning why he has not been charged.
But, in a series of interviews with The Daily Telegraph, Laycock has revealed he intends to defend any charges should they ever come to fruition.
"I'm surprised I haven't been charged yet," he said.
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 Article sourced from
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Dallas Morning News - TX,USA
19 March 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
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DA to revise list of problem p
Some are no longer officers, at least one is dead, and another was recently added after a public feud with the Dallas County district attorney's office.
A list of police officers with potential credibility problems that could affect the way their testimony is received in court has become so bloated that critics say it no longer always serves its purpose. It is now being revised by the district attorney's office.
"The list that was in effect up until recently appeared to be a hodgepodge of officers and backgrounds, and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it," said Bob Gorsky, an attorney for the Dallas Police Association.
But while the review is being praised by police associations, there is still concern that the criteria for being placed on the list appear to be too vague.
And one law enforcement expert cautioned that the list is an important tool as long as it is not "politicized."
"The lists are sort of a shortcut so prosecutors don't inadvertently walk into a problem," said Southern Methodist University law professor Fred Moss. But he said it can only be an effective tool if it remains reliable by not being used as a political weapon.
When the list was first created in 2004 under District Attorney Bill Hill, it contained the names of 26 Dallas police officers. By January, when Craig Watkins took office, the list had swelled to more than 140 officers from police agencies across the county. The district attorney's review is expected to slash the list by more than half.
'Moral turpitude'
Officers can find a place on the roll if they commit crimes of "moral turpitude," which includes a range of crimes –even misdemeanors – including theft, family violence assault, fraud and indecent exposure. Mr. Watkins said any officer whose integrity comes to his office's attention could be placed on the list.
One of the newest names on the roll is a DeSoto police captain who publicly criticized Mr. Watkins' administration after prosecutors dropped a misdemeanor case on a Dallas police officer.
The district attorney's office said Capt. Gary Perkins is on the list because he didn't go through proper channels when he became concerned that a defense attorney and close friend of Mr. Watkins' may have tried to improperly wield his influence to get the case dropped.
Capt. Perkins released a recording to news reporters of a phone conversation between himself and prosecutor Brandon Birmingham.
"If he's trying to set up the DA, what's he doing to the average citizen out there in DeSoto?" Mr. Watkins said. "We can't really trust what he's doing."
The charge
The misdemeanor charge involved former Dallas police Officer Deanna Hammond and allegations that she lied to DeSoto police investigating a March 2006 assault that her teenage son had witnessed.
In the conversation taped by Capt. Perkins, a prosecutor states that the charge had been dropped because a member of Mr. Watkins' post-election transition team had advised that Ms. Hammond had lost her job. Prosecutors later acknowledged that the transition team member was also Ms. Hammond's attorney, Anthony Lyons.
Capt. Perkins said an internal affairs investigation is now under way on the matter, and he has been advised not to comment.
Ms. Hammond is appealing her termination from Dallas police.
DeSoto Police Chief Mike Brodnax later apologized to Mr. Watkins, saying the matter was handled poorly and was not meant to criticize Mr. Watkins' integrity. Chief Brodnax said that he thought the tape had been released in response to an open records request, but DeSoto police officials have since said that they have no record of any requests filed on the matter.
At the time, Chief Brodnax said he hoped the matter would blow over and wanted to have a good working relationship with the new district attorney. He has since declined to discuss the issue.
Mr. Birmingham, the prosecutor, has said he should have chosen his words with Capt. Perkins more carefully but added that the result would not have changed because he did not give the case any special treatment.
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