A Lowell man is expected to file a federal civil rights lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Lowell and a Lowell police officer who relied on two informants suspected of planting drugs on dozens of innocent victims, a scandal that already has led prosecutors to drop charges in 17 pending drug and firearm cases and to overturn two convictions.
Jonathan Santiago, a 25-year-old with no prior drug convictions whose case was among those dismissed, said an informant planted cocaine in the gas cap compartment of his car in February 2012, then alerted police, who arrested him. He said police then filed a false report that concealed the informant's role.
"I just couldn't believe it - that law enforcement would actually do something like this," Santiago said in a Globe interview, adding that his arrest, jailing, and ensuing legal ordeal changed his life. "I pretty much stay home now. I don't go out anymore. I feel like I can't trust anyone."
It's amazing how many people still believe that the Police exist to "help" them. Many people simply won't, or can't, accept that, with very few exceptions, the Police are only interested in generating revenue for the Elite, while keeping the subjugated masses in line. This is how they earn promotions and pay increases for themselves. They don't even have to prove a person is guilty of a crime to confiscate their car, house, money, etc. They just steal private property like common thieves, portion out the loot among themselves, then get away with it because they have badges.
In most Departments Police Officers are specifically chosen because they're authoritarian followers with low IQ's and pathological personalities. These days, a person should think twice before calling the Police to "help" them, especially if there's a dog and/or a Person of Color in the house. Police can, and do, kill innocent dogs and Black people with complete impunity on a regular basis. Murdering an innocent White person can still get them a temporary suspension in some states, but that's changing pretty fast too.
It's way past time to wake up and smell the Imperial Stormtroopers.
Santiago's lawsuit says that scores of others may have suffered a similar fate, noting that one of the informants has been working with Lowell police for the last decade - the arresting officer in Santiago's case alone has testified to using the informant in more than 50 cases. The lawsuit also says that "Lowell police officers allowed [the informant] to commit crimes because he assisted them as an informant."
Neither the police officer, veteran Detective Thomas Lafferty, nor a spokesman for the Lowell police would address the specific allegations in the federal lawsuit, referring questions to the city's legal department. Lowell's chief legal official, City Solicitor Christine O'Connor, was unavailable for comment.
Defense lawyers said the allegations in the lawsuit echo disclosures in the case of Annie Dookhan, the state chemist whose allegedly faked drug analyses were used to obtain convictions that have now been overturned, and the trial of notorious gangster James "Whitey' Bulger, who Bulger asserts was allowed by his FBI handlers to commit crimes in exchange for providing information on other criminals.
The Santiago lawsuit alleges "the widespread misuse of confidential informants in the Lowell Police Department" and a "policy or custom of tolerating violations of people's constitutional rights in order to obtain convictions."
Middlesex prosecutors dropped charges or vacated convictions against Santiago and 18 other defendants earlier this year after one of the informants advertised his services to the Massachusetts State Police and "boasted about his skill and experience in planting evidence," citing specific examples of his work with the other informant on behalf of Lowell police, according to the lawsuit.
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