Wrongful Arrest and Officer Lied in Court

My question involves police conduct in the State of: North Carolina

Was arrested in July of this year for BUI- Boating under the influence. I was a passenger of a boat, that I was not driving, however I am the owner of the boat. The captain operating the boat was 100% sober as well as the driver of my car.

Upon returning to the dock after an overnight fishing trip, the NC wildlife officer did his standard safety checks and permit/licensing checks (all in my name) which was all in order. He left for a few minutes and came back to my docked boat in which I was a passenger and asked me to do a field sobriety test. I complied and was arrested for BUI. I protested that I had not driven the boat to which he agreed, none the less off I go to jail.

Was let out pretty quick about 2 hours later.

Contacted a good lawyer in the area, explained the situation gave him all my witness statements, and sent him the tickets. He said it was an open and shut case, there was no standing for the arrest and he assured me it would be dismissed.

Fast forwrad to yesterday, I'm thinking smooth sailing, nothing to worry about, the cop will tell his side that he arrested the owner of the boat instead of the operator, case will be thrown out and I'll get my bail money back.

Well, officer shows up with a BRAND NEW story and testifies he saw me driving the boat, which is a flat out bold face lie.

Now I am stuck with an appeal and a he said she said.

I am appalled that this can happen in the United States,

I am currently trying to get the surveillance footage from the marina, but since the incident is 4 months old, I am not optimistic they have saved it for that long.

I am more furious then anything else and I want this guy punished. I do not want money from the state, I want this cowboy flipping burgers where he belongs, he has no place carrying a gun and a badge if he doesn't have the integrity to tell the truth in court.

But you had witnesses, yes? To corroborate your side of the story? Were they ever called to testify?

What did your attorney actually do?

I was not in court, due to the nature of the case and perceived easy dismissal, my lawyer said I did not have to appear and he represented me under a power of attorney.

For the witnesses we simply provided written statements and they also did not appear.

I thought it very strange when he said I did not have to appear, but that's why I hired a lawyer, they are the experts.

I'm getting the distinct impression that your grievance is not with the officer, but with your attorney.

Not at ALL, I am furious that an officer would make up a story in court just to get his conviction, when I have not broken any law...The only reason for coming to this site was to get opinions on the best way to hold this officer accountable for his actions.

I would be speaking to my lawyer, but its saturday and he said we will speak on monday. I am just too mad at the cop to let it sit until monday.

What exactly do you think is going to happen between now and Monday?

I'm honestly not being snarky - it's a genuine question.

Have you even gotten the transcripts yet? Do you know what actually happened in court? You weren't there, after all.

Obviously nothing will happen, but I was hoping to start getting ideas of what I need to put together or what challenges I would face when pursuing a case against an officer for perjury, or any other charges that apply.

I have nothing from the court room other then a e-mail from my lawyer that told me what happened with the cop telling his story, and he said we would talk on monday.

What I was hoping to find on here was people with similiar experience and to share what their actions were and what their results were. As everywhere else I look I find accounts of people saying forget about it, its impossible to beat the system, the court always sides with the police, etc. etc etc.

That is not good enough for me, I will not accept this and I will not stop until this guy is punished. I have cash at hand, and I will be happy to spend it in pursuit of this guys career.

So what possible reason could this guy have, to pick you, your boat and your fishing trip to lie about? What was his motivation?

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Quoting That Guy

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So what possible reason could this guy have, to pick you, your boat and your fishing trip to lie about? What was his motivation?

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Exactly, I have a hard time believing this cop would suddenly pick you, a total stranger out for persecution. He would be betting his career and possibly his freedom just to get you for BUI???? Honestly there is more to this than your telling us.

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Quoting Rsmith1981

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I will not accept this and I will not stop until this guy is punished. I have cash at hand, and I will be happy to spend it in pursuit of this guys career.

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That right there is going to be your downfall.

Its a long story and not relevant in court, but to some it up, he is part of a network of which one of the other "members" and I had a verbal dispute, low and behold 12 hours later I am sitting in jail without having committed a crime. However, its inadmissible in court because its all he said/ he said...

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Quoting Dogmatique

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That right there is going to be your downfall.

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can you expand on that theory, why would that be my down fall,?

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Quoting Rsmith1981

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can you expand on that theory, why would that be my down fall,?

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Because you have no authority to demand punishment. Dedicating your life and funds to vengeance is, most likely, a hollow endeavor.

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Quoting Rsmith1981

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Its a long story and not relevant in court, but to some it up, he is part of a network of which one of the other "members" and I had a verbal dispute, low and behold 12 hours later I am sitting in jail without having committed a crime.

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Fair enough... So it would be safe to assume that your attorney was aware of this network, the verbal dispute and the connection between both -that being this particular officer- BEFORE your trial?

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Quoting Rsmith1981

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However, its inadmissible in court because its all he said/ he said...

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So that is inadmissible in a trial;
You've already been convicted based on the evidence which was admitted;
An appeal, is a review of the case and the evidence presented during the trial, in a light most favorable to the verdict;
Explain to us, if you would, why are you hanging your hopes on an appeal/what are you appealing???

You were charged with BUI, which means that the officer alleged that you were operating the boat. You claim that somebody else was operating and that you were just a passenger, but the officer's decision to charge you gave you a pretty good idea from the moment you sobered up to the time of your trial that the officer didn't believe your story and was alleging that you were the operator. I have no access to the officer's incident report but I expect that it, also, expressly or impliedly identified you as the operator of the boat.

While it is interesting that you claim that, even as he arrested you and hauled you of to jail for operating the boat while drunk, the officer admitted that you were not operating the boat, I can see why nobody took that claim seriously. Frankly, I have heard all sorts of crazy things from intoxicated drivers over the years, usually to find that when they review the facts in more detail or we get a copy of a patrol car video the haze starts to lift and I get an, "Oh, yeah, that's what happened... I guess I remembered things wrong." Sometimes, also, the police will humor a drunk driver in order to get better cooperation: "Of course you weren't operating the boat... Of course you didn't switch operators when you saw me observing your boat," none of which means that the officer is agreeing that the drunk wasn't operating the boat or that the officer didn't see the switch.

Your big surprise at trial was that the officer testified that he saw you operating the boat? It seems to me that you and your lawyer should have anticipated that the officer would recall things that way, given that he cited you for the offense. You and your attorney had the opportunity to present your own evidence and witnesses to contradict the officer's testimony. It would appear that at the end of the day, though, you were not able to convince the judge, prosecutor or jury that the sober guy was the operator.

Having presented whatever evidence you have to show that you were not the operator and that the officer was biased, and having failed to convince the judge, prosecutor or jury that your story was more credible than the officer's, the chances of convincing a prosecutor to file perjury charges hover at approximately 0%. I'm sure your lawyer has already explained that to you.

You do have the option of appealing, and I expect you have discussed that with your lawyer as well. I do not give you a huge chance of succeeding on appeal given that the finder of fact at the trial court generally has the last word on witness credibility and allegations of bias, so I would encourage you to discuss with your lawyer whether there are additional issues you might include in your appeal.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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You were charged with BUI, which means that the officer alleged that you were operating the boat. You claim that somebody else was operating and that you were just a passenger, but the officer's decision to charge you gave you a pretty good idea from the moment you sobered up to the time of your trial that the officer didn't believe your story and was alleging that you were the operator. I have no access to the officer's incident report but I expect that it, also, expressly or impliedly identified you as the operator of the boat.

While it is interesting that you claim that, even as he arrested you and hauled you of to jail for operating the boat while drunk, the officer admitted that you were not operating the boat, I can see why nobody took that claim seriously. Frankly, I have heard all sorts of crazy things from intoxicated drivers over the years, usually to find that when they review the facts in more detail or we get a copy of a patrol car video the haze starts to lift and I get an, "Oh, yeah, that's what happened... I guess I remembered things wrong." Sometimes, also, the police will humor a drunk driver in order to get better cooperation: "Of course you weren't operating the boat... Of course you didn't switch operators when you saw me observing your boat," none of which means that the officer is agreeing that the drunk wasn't operating the boat or that the officer didn't see the switch.

Your big surprise at trial was that the officer testified that he saw you operating the boat? It seems to me that you and your lawyer should have anticipated that the officer would recall things that way, given that he cited you for the offense. You and your attorney had the opportunity to present your own evidence and witnesses to contradict the officer's testimony. It would appear that at the end of the day, though, you were not able to convince the judge, prosecutor or jury that the sober guy was the operator.

Having presented whatever evidence you have to show that you were not the operator and that the officer was biased, and having failed to convince the judge, prosecutor or jury that your story was more credible than the officer's, the chances of convincing a prosecutor to file perjury charges hover at approximately 0%. I'm sure your lawyer has already explained that to you.

You do have the option of appealing, and I expect you have discussed that with your lawyer as well. I do not give you a huge chance of succeeding on appeal given that the finder of fact at the trial court generally has the last word on witness credibility and allegations of bias, so I would encourage you to discuss with your lawyer whether there are additional issues you might include in your appeal.

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I agree. The OP did not show up for court; lawyer offered statements that were clearly not admissible - I assume that the statements were not admitted into evidence or given little weight by the court due to the witnesses absence ; and the attny is using his judgment that you & your witnesses need not appear & I don't think rises to the level of malpractice.

Unless your witnesses are willing to go down to the DA's office or police department and file a sworn complaint of perjury then you will also have no luck with criminal perjury charges.

The OP took the charge too lightly & this is the result of such an attitude; its not uncommon, even for innocent people.

The officer did arrest you for operating a boat under the influence ... you must have known he thought you did. Maybe the officer made a wrong identification, a simple mistake. Without witnesses giving testimony to support a wrong ID having been made your cause was lost.

I don't see anything the OP can do to rectify this. Perjury must be knowingly done ... testifying to your ID could have been a simple case of mistaken ID, ie not a knowing error.

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Quoting Mr. Knowitall

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You were charged with BUI, which means that the officer alleged that you were operating the boat. You claim that somebody else was operating and that you were just a passenger, but the officer's decision to charge you gave you a pretty good idea from the moment you sobered up to the time of your trial that the officer didn't believe your story and was alleging that you were the operator. I have no access to the officer's incident report but I expect that it, also, expressly or impliedly identified you as the operator of the boat.

While it is interesting that you claim that, even as he arrested you and hauled you of to jail for operating the boat while drunk, the officer admitted that you were not operating the boat, I can see why nobody took that claim seriously. Frankly, I have heard all sorts of crazy things from intoxicated drivers over the years, usually to find that when they review the facts in more detail or we get a copy of a patrol car video the haze starts to lift and I get an, "Oh, yeah, that's what happened... I guess I remembered things wrong." Sometimes, also, the police will humor a drunk driver in order to get better cooperation: "Of course you weren't operating the boat... Of course you didn't switch operators when you saw me observing your boat," none of which means that the officer is agreeing that the drunk wasn't operating the boat or that the officer didn't see the switch.

Your big surprise at trial was that the officer testified that he saw you operating the boat? It seems to me that you and your lawyer should have anticipated that the officer would recall things that way, given that he cited you for the offense. You and your attorney had the opportunity to present your own evidence and witnesses to contradict the officer's testimony. It would appear that at the end of the day, though, you were not able to convince the judge, prosecutor or jury that the sober guy was the operator.

Having presented whatever evidence you have to show that you were not the operator and that the officer was biased, and having failed to convince the judge, prosecutor or jury that your story was more credible than the officer's, the chances of convincing a prosecutor to file perjury charges hover at approximately 0%. I'm sure your lawyer has already explained that to you.

You do have the option of appealing, and I expect you have discussed that with your lawyer as well. I do not give you a huge chance of succeeding on appeal given that the finder of fact at the trial court generally has the last word on witness credibility and allegations of bias, so I would encourage you to discuss with your lawyer whether there are additional issues you might include in your appeal.

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Why is it that everybody in the world defaults to the police were right the accused are wrong?

I guess I'll just leave it at that since this is going nowhere, even if my memory was hazy as you point out, there were four of us on the boat, two of which haven't drank in 20 years. The facts are the facts, I did not operate the boat and the reason we did not come prepared for the officers false testimony is because I would never have guessed he would make up a new story...

The fact still remains the officer has his own personal agenda and is operating outside the law, this is a relatively minor offense in NC, its a class 2 misdemeanor, and does not convert to your driving record. The point being if I was guilty I would have shown up, apologized to the judge and taken my penalty which would likely have been 1000$ fine and maybe an AA class.

But that is not the case, I cannot let this injustice go un-checked, My record is spot-less I don't even have a speeding ticket on record, why should I be subjected to a charge that is entirely 100% false?

Whining isn't becoming, and won't help you. As you've been told, if you want to appeal your conviction you may do so. Talk to your lawyer.

When a police officer tells one story, the defendant tells another, and there is no evidence to suggest that the officer is lying, people (such as the judge, jury and prosecutor in your case) tend to believe the officer as the officer has no motive to lie and the defendant has a big one. You had your chance to prove that the officer was lying when he was on the stand and the jury believed him. If three of your friends testified that you weren't operating the boat and the jury disbelieved them all, that's unfortunate for you but it's not our fault.