Police officers in Dothan, Alabama, planted drugs and weapons on young black men for years, according to documents recently unveiled by the Alabama Justice Center. An investigation by the police department's internal affairs unit revealed the egregious police misconduct, but Doug Valeska, the district attorney in Dothan, covered up the results and made sure the investigation was kept quiet.
The officers implicated in the scandal were on a special narcotics team. The investigation revealed that these officers had been planting drugs on minority residents since 1996, but they weren't fired—they were promoted. At the time, the unit was supervised by Steve Parrish and Andy Hughes. Parrish is now the Dothan police chief and Hughes is Alabama's assistant director of Homeland Security.
From the Henry County Report:
Several long term Dothan law enforcement officers, all part of an original group that initiated the investigation, believe the public has a right to know that the Dothan Police Department, and District Attorney Doug Valeska, targeted young black men by planting drugs and weapons on them over a decade.
Most of the young men were prosecuted, many sentenced to prison, and some are still in prison. Many of the officers involved were subsequently promoted and are in leadership positions in law enforcement. […]
The group of officers...shared hundreds of files from the Internal Affairs Division. They reveal a pattern of criminal behavior from within the highest levels of the Dothan Police Department and the district attorney’s office in the 20th Judicial District of Alabama. […]
The officers believe that there are currently nearly a thousand wrongful convictions resulting in felonies from the 20th Judicial District that are tied to planted drugs and weapons[.] [emphasis added]
The police that planted drugs and weapons on black people "reportedly were members of a Neo-confederate organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center labels ‘racial extremists.’" According to Henry County Report, "The group has advocated for blacks to return to Africa, published that the civil rights movement is really a Jewish conspiracy, and that blacks have lower IQ’s. Both Parrish and Hughes held leadership positions in the group[.]"
When this misconduct was discovered, it was the prosecutor's job to vindicate the innocent and hold the officers responsible. But naturally, Valeska did neither.
All of these cases involving planted drugs and weapons were subsequently prosecuted by District Attorney, Doug Valeska, despite the written allegations by police officers that the evidence was planted. Never was any such information shared in the discovery process with the defendant’s attorneys.
In other words, Valeska prosecuted minorities for felonies when he knew the evidence had been planted. He didn’t disclose exculpatory evidence. He sent them to jail, where many of them still reside.
Valeska also let the corrupt police officers go free.
Are you surprised? I’m not. Horrified, but not surprised. Valeska has long been known as a racist and corrupt district attorney. He’s been charged with various ethics violations and is known for his harsh sentencing. A recent story written by user dmitcha links to "an attorney’s 2012 complaint against Valeska for 'a pattern and practice of racial misconduct[.]'”
Valeska is up for election in 2016.
The evidence speaks for itself. There are men still in prison for crimes committed by the police. Those police officers got a pay raise for planting drugs and weapons on black people.
We will be following this story as it unfolds. If you have anymore information about this case or other examples of Valeska’s misconduct, please feel free to email me at prosecutortips@gmail.com. You can also reach out anonymously by filling out this form.
As always, any tips on prosecutorial, judicial, or police misconduct are welcome.
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