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He Was Filming on His Phone. Then a Deputy Attacked Him and Charged Him With Resisting Arrest.
https://www.propublica.org/article/he-was-filming-on-his-phone-then-a-deputy-attacked-him-and-charged-him-with-resisting-arrestCage’s presence at the parade is the only thing about that night that he and the officers agree on. Dowling, an eight-year veteran of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, said he tried to de-escalate the situation by quietly removing Cage from the scene, but the then-20-year-old became violent and swung “wildly” at him, hitting him in the chest. The sergeant stated in his report he had no choice at that point but to use force to take Cage to the ground, after which he booked Cage for battery of an officer and resisting arrest.
(snip)
The charges Cage faced are known by police critics, defense attorneys and some federal investigators as “cover charges.” Deputies can use these offenses — typically resisting arrest, battery of an officer and flight from an officer — to arrest people they have assaulted, experts say. The charges, which are sometimes used in combination with other offenses, allow officers to cover up their use of excessive force and help shield the department from civil liability, according to civil rights attorneys. Because there is often no other evidence save for the word of the officer, and because the resisting arrest statute is written so broadly that it can be applied to almost any situation, convictions are relatively easy to secure. And once someone is convicted or enters a guilty plea, they often lose the right to sue for any alleged police brutality.
An investigation by WWNO/WRKF and ProPublica found that Black people are arrested in Jefferson Parish at a disproportionate rate overall — and arrested for cover charges at a still higher rate. The Black community accounts for 26% of the parish’s population and 57% of all arrests. But in cases where the arrest is based exclusively on cover charges, 73% of the time, the person is Black.
The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a detailed list of questions and a request for comment. Attorney Danny Martiny, who represents the Sheriff’s Office and the deputies named in Cage’s lawsuit, declined to comment.
(snip)
The charges Cage faced are known by police critics, defense attorneys and some federal investigators as “cover charges.” Deputies can use these offenses — typically resisting arrest, battery of an officer and flight from an officer — to arrest people they have assaulted, experts say. The charges, which are sometimes used in combination with other offenses, allow officers to cover up their use of excessive force and help shield the department from civil liability, according to civil rights attorneys. Because there is often no other evidence save for the word of the officer, and because the resisting arrest statute is written so broadly that it can be applied to almost any situation, convictions are relatively easy to secure. And once someone is convicted or enters a guilty plea, they often lose the right to sue for any alleged police brutality.
An investigation by WWNO/WRKF and ProPublica found that Black people are arrested in Jefferson Parish at a disproportionate rate overall — and arrested for cover charges at a still higher rate. The Black community accounts for 26% of the parish’s population and 57% of all arrests. But in cases where the arrest is based exclusively on cover charges, 73% of the time, the person is Black.
The Sheriff’s Office did not respond to a detailed list of questions and a request for comment. Attorney Danny Martiny, who represents the Sheriff’s Office and the deputies named in Cage’s lawsuit, declined to comment.
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