San Francisco law enforcement officials are creating conspiracy theories and charges of special treatment by their secrecy about the alleged assault of Paul Pelosi.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins refuses to release video footage of Pelosi’s attack. Jenkins also refuses to release the 911 call allegedly placed by Pelosi. Both are routinely released by authorities around the U.S. but S.F. has put the clamps on the case.
San Francisco authorities further refuse to release a mugshot of the suspect, 42-year-old Canadian David DePape, according to a report in The Epoch Times.
Elon Musk may be tempted to restore the tweet he deleted that linked to a California publication suggesting Pelosi was not assaulted. A Santa Monica Observer report claimed Paul Pelosi is gay; he and DePape were engaged in sexual activities that were interrupted by police.
After NBC’s program, “Today,” broadcast information from a source claiming the events of that evening were different from what San Francisco police alleged in their charging document filed with the court. According to the since-deleted story, Pelosi talked to the police at the door, in his underwear, while DePape stood some distance back in the house.
San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said widespread publication of mugshots “fosters racial bias and vastly overstates the propensity of black and brown men to engage in criminal behavior.” Scott also said refusing to release mugshots reinforces a cornerstone of American jurisprudence: “innocent until proven guilty.”
That’s strange. If Scott is really worried about protecting the innocent, it would seem reasonable his department would stop publicizing “a person of interest.” After all, there is no legal status “person of interest” but naming individuals a “suspect” confers rights that courts have mandated authorities to provide suspects.
Surely, Chief Scott is not more concerned about people arrested by his officers, presumably with probable cause, than he is about individual investigators lacking sufficient evidence to label them suspects.
It is unfortunate that authorities in San Francisco are handling Pelosi’s alleged assault outside the norms. It creates suspicion and distrust. Only facts can slap down conspiracy theories or outrageous claims about kinky sex parties with male prostitutes. Only a recent mugshot can dispel claims that police beat the bejesus out of the suspect at the station.
It would be a travesty of justice if shenanigans shrouding the case in such secrecy raise sufficient suspicion about law enforcement procedures that a jury finds reasonable doubt to convict.
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