A cop said Pedro Barbosa tried to run him over w/ a car. Faced 15 years. But it was a lie. Investigators from @BklynDefender got video proving the cop fabricated the charge. They saved his life. Mr. Barbosa now free. Officer pled guilty to perjury & fired. washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/…
Watch & compare w/ Michael Bergman’s perjured testimony: "Barbosa turned the car into reverse, floored it, then put it in drive, turned vehicle towards me to the point where I was in between his headlights, & if I didn’t jump out of the way, I wouldve been under his vehicle."
I represented Mr. Barbosa. I remember well when I first met him in court within a day of his arrest. Adamant that he was innocent, but terrified. Who would believe him over the officers? Praying there was video surveillance. “I really thought it was going to be over for me."
These cops had it out for him. Like so many people we represent, he felt imprisoned in his own home. “It seemed like every time, 24/7, no matter what, if I’m anywhere, they were there. They would follow me wherever I went. They’d tell me, ‘Were going to get you off the streets.'”
Barbosa was fortunate to be represented by @bklyndefender. "Many public defender offices around the country don’t have investigators. If not for that video, it would have been Barbosa’s word against theirs."
I am so fortunate to work in an office w/ dedicated people. Investigators. Social workers. Reentry specialists. Immigration, family, housing, education, & employment. There are entire swaths of the country w/o a public defender office at all. A travesty.
There's more work to do. While the lying cop was fired & cases investigated, *we still have no info about his partner,* "who witnessed the incident & presumably knew that Bergman had lied about it." NYPD able to withhold information bc of a NY law called Civil Rights law 50-a.
Civil Rights Law 50-a is one of the two most restrictive police transparency laws in the country. Makes it nearly impossible for the public, defense attorneys, people accused, journalists, & even prosecutors to access disciplinary records of police officers. We must #repeal50a
Another issue: Mr. Barbosa was jailed for 5 months by parole based upon the false allegation. New legislation would severely restrict the amount of time a person can be held by parole before a hearing. Would also require the possibility of release. katalcenter.org/lessismoreny
Prosecutors in NY & country must stop relying on lying officers & release names. Police unions protested when Brooklyn DA just did. Called it a smear of “honest, hard-working police officers.” But if officers lie, they aren't honest. They're dangerous & must be held accountable.
As for Mr. Barbosa. his car is *still* impounded (working on getting it released), but engaged w/ treatment & working w/ a reentry program to get his life back on track. “I still have a lot of work to do,” he says. But he wants to make the most of the chance he’s been given.”
