Brickbat: It Takes a Thief

The Atlanta Police Department has fired officer Keisha Richburg after $500 in cash went missing from a homicide victim's wallet. Bodycam footage shows an EMT putting the money back into the wallet before handing it to Richburg. A minute later, Richburg is seen in her patrol car with the wallet, but the cash is no longer visible. And when she handed the wallet over to a sergeant the cash was no longer in it. Richburg is appealing her firing and has the support of her union. "They haven't proven that she had the money or took the money," said Vincent Champion, regional director for the International Brotherhood of Police Officers. "We don't feel the officer did that."

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

That was too much cash for the victim to be carrying around and should have been seized as an official drug asset forfeiture. She robbed the city not the victim.

[Wizard4169]

Well, yeah. Why do you think she got fired?

[Longtobefree]

They could make a four part mini-series about the 'missing minute' where some one or some thing was involved in the alleged disappearance of the money.
And that EMT. How many of us have seen magicians put stuff into hats just to have it not there later? Who investigated him? Has he ever appeared as an amateur magician?
The real question, for an investigative journalist, not a brickbat, is this: what is the reason that this particular officer, evidently female, was actually charged? Did she refuse certain requests from superiors?
Inquiring minds want to know.

[turco]

I would need more evidence than what is presented in article. It is not beyond reasonable doubt that the EMT came back later off camera and took the money .

There must be more to the story.

[Jerryskids]

Bodycam footage, how does it work?

[Kevin Smith]

Do EMTs typically wear bodycams? My thinking was the officer was wearing the bodycam, which showed the EMT putting the money back into the wallet in front of her

[Agammamon]

Let me see if I have this straight.

The EMT is filmed putting the money in the wallet and handing it to the cop for safe storage.

The cop takes the wallet and secures it.

The EMT somehow comes back later and takes the money out of the wallet wherever the cop stored it?

Do you think the 'more to the story' is that the cop left the wallet on the ground?

[Jerryskids]

"We don't feel the officer did that."

And nothing trumps a cop's feelings, hunches, intuitions, suspicions. Not facts and logic and reasons, just feelings.

[Rich]

Hence the expression "Cop a feel".

[Quo Usque Tandem]

Better than "feel a cop."

[Freddy the Jerk]

"Peel a cop"?

[loveconstitution1789]

Police, in general, make less money in Georgia so you have to remain vigilant about them wanting to steal money to get a bigger paycheck.

Many Georgia police agencies let officers take their vehicles home as a benefit. Supposedly they can get to their patrol area quicker if they dont need to drive to the police station to pick their police vehicle up.

[Unicorn Abattoir]

Some cops in my town take their vehicles home, and they average a little over $120K/year (seriously).

[Longtobefree]

They often take home the vehicles of people they stop for broken taillights, after finding out, much to the owners surprise, that a dog will do a sit when commanded by its controller.

[loveconstitution1789]

Holy Shit! $120k!?!

Cops on average in Georgia make $53k

[You're Kidding]

I'm in CA. $120,000 ain't nothing.

Just look at this police Lt who made $473,713 in total compensation - more than the city manager - in 2017 in the formerly bankrupt City of Vallejo (where I now reside.)

https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2017/vallejo/

Just ask all the boot lickers who tell us that cops and fire deserve so much more because they are putting their lives "on the line".

I dunno. If I see some miscreant prowling around my property and he looks to be armed and I go confront him armed myself, I'll get arrested. Charges will depend on any interaction with said miscreant.

In CA, we have no rights to self defense. Ask any DA's office.

Whereas, if I call PD AND they send an officer (very unlikely in my formerly bankrupt city) and the cop kills me while I'm outside looking for the miscreant, the cop will be granted qualified immunity because he "feared for his life".

What's wrong with this picture? What do we have to do as citizens to eliminate this abuse?

[Rossami]

According to salary.com, the average police salary in Georgia is $53,000 per year. The average for police across the entire US is $55,300.

For comparison (and from the Bureau of Labor Statistics), the median annual salary across all occupations in Georgia is $48,280. The median annual salary across all occupations and across the entire US is $47,060.

So police in Georgia make "less money" than doctors in Georgia? Yeah - and that's not surprising. "Less money" than police in high-cost-of-living places like New York? Yeah - and not surprising there either. "Less money" than most of the people they are supposed to be policing? No.

[loveconstitution1789]

Quit a few Georgia cops do extra gigs to make money, so starting pay is likely not good.

[Agammamon]

Again - that's not a Georgia thing. All cops do extra gigs. If for no reason other than to goose their 'average salary' with overtime so they can get into a higher retirement pay bracket.

[Agammamon]

And 50k+ benefits is not a little bit of money. Especially in Georgia.

[Agammamon]

*Most* police agencies across the country let officers take home vehicles. Its not a benefit. You still can't drive the marked around like its a company car. And, in fact, if you're taking it home, you're responsible for ensuring its washed so there's a burden added that picking a car out of the motorpool doesn't have.

Its because these guys often don't report in to a central hub at the start of each shift for a muster and brief - like city cops do. They log on and then proceed directly to their area of responsibility.

[PaulTheBeav]

If you ignore all the proof then I think we can all agree that it hasn't been proven.

[Uncle Jay]

It makes you wonder how much money cops have stolen down through the decades before cameras came along.

[آهنگ جدید]

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