Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell states she will review the Cops beating the crap out of a deaf guy case. Too bad she’s been implicated in railroading suspects that were known to be innocent in the past.
“Because of the attention on this case, I will personally review the entire file, as well as the totality of the video,” Mitchell said in an emailed statement. “I may reach a different conclusion or I may not, but I believe this case merits additional scrutiny.”
Apparently some average intelligence cop literally ran into traffic without looking during an accident investigation, taking himself out of the gene pool and winning a Darwin. The police and prosecutors vindictively sought to prosecute the driver.
Since the criminal charges, her defense attorneys have filed multiple motions alleging that Phoenix police and MCAO prosecutors used false testimony, faulty data, and cherry-picked evidence to obtain the negligent homicide count.
Judge Ryan-Touhill agreed with several of the defense’s arguments in her motion.
A significant issue highlighted by the judge is when Det. Davidson and prosecutors withheld clearly exculpatory evidence from Phoenix police’s own investigation that showed Rutherford stepped out into moving traffic without looking both ways.
According to the final report filed by the department’s traffic reconstruction expert, Alex Gibbs, “It needs to be considered that [Officer] Rutherford could have also avoided the collision if he had stopped and looked west down the two-way left turn lane prior to entering it.”
The judge ruled that omission was “critical.”
“Nowhere in his testimony does Det. Davidson acknowledge that Officer Rutherford failed again to look west into traffic before stepping into the two-way left turn lane.
This is critical.
Det. Gibbs’ statement regarding Officer Rutherford’s contribution to the incident is clearly exculpatory and the State should have presented it to the Grand Jury,” Ryan-Touhill wrote. She added, “If the Grand Jury was told that Officer Rutherford ‘could have also avoided the collision,’ the jurors may not have found probable cause that a crime was committed and Defendant committed that crime.”
Ryan-Touhill issued a similar rebuke to MCAO and Phoenix PD last year after ABC15 had exposed the two agencies colluded to falsely charge protesters as members of a made-up gang.
Further details https://www.abc15.com/news/local-news/investigations/evidence-shows-pressure-bias-inside-case-to-blame-woman-for-phoenix-officers-death
submitted by /u/DoctorChampTH
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