Need some help here.

My cousin is being harassed by a local police officer as well as some of his friends, at least one of them is another officer.

My cousin is a graduate from Purdue, works as a loan officer in a local bank (not a nationally owned one), and doesn't have a single blemish on his record. Recently he and a co-worker of his went out to have a drink after work (I do not know if this was a date, or just friends talking), unknown to my cousin did this lady coworker have an ex-boyfriend who is a local police officer. Well The officer saw them together at the place where they had the drinks, and from that point on has caused my cousin's life to be a living hell. (this is all I know about the cause)


Here is what I know has happened to him so far since then.

He was jumped while he was walking the dog by a group of 6 or 7 men. He does not know whether these men were police or not, but he doesn't think they were. He does know they were sent by the guy as they told him "we want to be sure you don't talk to so and so's girl again." He was then knocked unconscious and left laying in the street.

When he came to, he called 911 to get help, but no one responded to the call. He had to crawl back to his home where his girlfriend (i believe (not the same lady)) took him to the hospital where he had broken ribs and other injuries.

He has gotten multiple threatening notes and calls from various people. The police officer in question, has come to him multiple times threatening to kill him.

He also has a voice mail from a different officer telling him to leave town or they will kill him. I have not heard the voicemail myself, but have been told that it is obvious (I don't know if he said his name or not) who left it,

He has reported this and gotten a lawyer to try and resolve this, but is being told by the city attorney that nothing can be done about it, since he has no proof that officer did anything wrong. He was flat out told that "In cases like this that it is city policy to side with the officer."

He doesn't know what to do, they won't even listen to the audio he has, and he is afraid to go to the media in fear of his life and/or retaliation of some kind.

I talked to a friend of mine who is an officer in a different city, and he said that if there is little that can be done, and city prosecutors will almost always side with the officer, especially if it has been going on for a while, in order to save face for the city.

Any advice here, because outside of him leaving town, then going to the media (or youtube) he doesn't see a way to beat this. Civil suite would just cause more problems for him.

On a side note: Lucky for us, the people in this town seem to think it was a great idea to vote in a police officer as the mayor of this town, and personally I think that has a lot to do with the police getting away with this type of thing.

You probably need to contact state officials and get them involved. State authorities can intervene in local affairs if there are instances of corruption or unlawful activity.

You really need to bring the state government to bear against these people and put them in their place.

That is my humble suggestion. Pit one government against the other.

But make sure you keep it simple and straightforward, if they realize you are personally invested into this they may think you personally have a bone to pick. So act neutral and just state the facts.

Sounds pretty bad the only thing i can think of is for you or his girlfriends someone who wants him to e safe, is to follow him and record everything that happens. also he should have something on him that he can turn on easily. Maye do a set up thing? Get him to go out with her again, maybe it is dangerous but if thats what it takes to get it on video then its better then being made to move by corrupt police.

record every encounter possible.
evidence goes along way when protecting yourself from cops.

Biggest advice I can offer: document EVERYTHING. Every, single, thing. Get photos, get recordings. Its tough to take on the police-you will need all the evidence you can get.

Originally posted by muzzleflash
You probably need to contact state officials and get them involved. State authorities can intervene in local affairs if there are instances of corruption or unlawful activity.

You really need to bring the state government to bear against these people and put them in their place.

That is my humble suggestion. Pit one government against the other.

But make sure you keep it simple and straightforward, if they realize you are personally invested into this they may think you personally have a bone to pick. So act neutral and just state the facts.

Thank you. But wouldn't he have to be the one to report it?

If they would start an investigation into this with just a hearsay then I'd do it in a flash.

Funny.

If your cousin were to talk to a lady who happened to be an ex of some petty gang member he'd be getting the same treatment.

Gotta love the gang in blue.

Here you go, play one of the voice mails to a local reporter. There has to be one of those muckraking locals with a segment on the evening news you can call? They always flash a number and are like "Call Channel 5 Problem Solvers!"

Ask the state militia for help. If there's one thing cops fear, it's a well armed state militia.

I say record the guy and present it to the district attorney, cc the evidence to state officials. tell the district attorney that you have cc'd authorities over his pay grade. The DA will be compelled to act. if he has any sense he would see this as a god send for his career.

Although if a cop showed up at my door on multiple occasions telling me he is going to kill me. I believe I would be justified in acting in self defense the next time he does and shooting him dead. Seriously you have rights including lethal force even against a police officer on duty if you are having your life threatened by said person. Look at it this was. it's safe to assume legally he is armed. it's safe to assume he is more than capable at making good on his promise to murder you. it's safe to assume that he has training on how to do just that and the means to accomplish it. You have a very good case in your favor if it ever goes to trial. and I doubt the jury would be to sympathetic to corrupt police.

You have a right to defend yourself in these circumstances even against on duty police.

Ok, my cousin is about as nonviolent as they come.

I'd take it to the ACLU. Regardless of their MANY faults, they do go after the police in cases like this.
If nothing else it would be a major pain in the butt for the cop and his friends to deal with. Also, Internal Affairs
or maybe the state police?

Thanks guys, these are great help.

I am just curious as to what his attorney is actually doing to help him?

This has been going on over months.



I do not see him leaving town. He was born, raised, and just about everything he knows is in this town. Our family is a well known family in the area due to it's size and age. To bad we don't have a police officer in the family though.