Lawrence Williams - Police Misconduct, Mistaken Witness ID

Williams, Lawrence; assault; NRE: mistaken witness identification, police officer misconduct, withheld exculpatory evidence, misconduct that is not withholding evidence

from NRE synopsis (by Maurice Possley):

"On April 21, 2008, two men, one armed with a handgun, approached 21-year-old Alberto Ortiz as he waited for an elevator on the 8th floor of a building in Brooklyn...after he left the apartment of close friends.

"When the gunman attempted to snatch the chain necklace from Ortiz, he resisted and the unarmed man fled. The gunman then knocked Ortiz down, shot him in the neck and fled without taking the necklace.

"[A fifteen-year-old female,] who lived in the apartment Ortiz had been visiting, was in the hallway at the time of the crime. She went to the police station and was shown photographs of potential suspects, but did not select anyone.

"Ortiz later said that when he and a friend initially approached the building to go inside, they saw two African-American men sitting on a bench outside. When Ortiz and his friend went inside, the two men followed them into the elevator.

"When Ortiz and his friend exited at the 8th floor, so did the men, although they had punched the button for the 12th floor.

"When Ortiz left the apartment, the same two men confronted him, he told police.

"In a stairwell of the building, police found a plastic bag holding some clothing, and Ortiz said the bag looked like a bag carried by the man who shot him. Ortiz said the gunman had handed the bag to his accomplice during the elevator ride."

"Three days afer the shooting, police said Ortiz told them he had heard in the neighborhood that one of the robbers was named Lawrence Williams -- although Ortiz would later deny giving Williams' name."*

[* This is the first example of either Ortiz, or detectives, not being truthful. (Later on, we'll see it was almost certainly the latter.)]

"Police found photographs of 64 people with that name in their computer photograph image system and showed them to Ortiz. Police said Ortiz picked a photo of Lawrence Williams, 32, who had a history of 15 arrests dating back to 2003 -- although Ortiz would later deny picking out Williams' photo."*

[* Example #2 of either Ortiz -- or detectives -- being untruthful.]

"Williams was arrested on May 20, 2008 and was picked out of live lineups by Ortiz and [the 15-year-old]."

"Williams went on trial in March 2009 in Brooklyn...Ortiz and [the 15-year-old] identified him as the gunman."

"The defense presented evidence showing that DNA testing on a shirt inside the plastic bag revealed a DNA profile that was not Williams. Police told the defense that the man whose profile was identified could not be found, although the defense would learn later that the man had been interviewed by police and denied involvement."*

[* Here, it becomes quite clear that the detectives were the mendacious party.]

"On March 8, 2009, the jury acquitted Williams of attempted murder, but convicted him of assault [and other crimes]."

"The appeal of the case was handled by Lisa Napoli, an attorney with Appellate Advocates, a non-profit organization that handles indigent criminal appeals in New York City. On appeal, Napoli argued that the trial judge had wrongly denied a defense motion to present expert testimony about the fallibility of eyewitness identification, particularly in highly stressful situations -- such as being robbed at gunpoint.

"While the appeal was pending, Williams' family continued to work to try to prove his innocence. Using Facebook, two investigators hired by the family tracked down Taevon Hutchinson, the man whose DNA was found on the clothing in the bag carried by one of the robbers. During conversations, Hutchinson confessed that he was the gunman and said that Williams was not involved.

"In February 2012, Williams' family faxed a letter outlining Hutchinson's statements to the [Brooklyn] DA's Office, and it was passed to John P. O'Mara, head of the Conviction Integrity Unit."

"Napoli sought to overturn Williams' conviction on the basis of this new evidence. On April 23, 2012, Williams was released from prison..."

"The investigation by the [Brooklyn DA's] Office confirmed that Hutchinson had confessed to the shooting and had exonerated Williams of involvement. Further, an examination of the surveillance video from the elevator showed that the gunman was taller than his accomplice. Since Williams and Hutchinson are approximately the same height, the prosecution concluded that they could not have committed the crime together.

"The prosecution's invstigation...failed to determine how the police came up with Williams' name."*

[* Yet more evidence of bad faith on the part of 'detectives' in this case.]

"On October 16, 2012, O'Mara filed a motion agreeing that the conviction should be vacated because '(I)t is my opinion that defendant Lawrence Williams is not guilty.'

"On October 26, 2012, Williams' conviction was vacated and the charges were dismissed.

"In August 2013, Williams filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging misconduct. It subsequently was dismissed."

[All emphases added unless otherwise noted.]