Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully elected to dismiss at least 79 cases of suspected driving under the influence in California after an investigation into the conduct of a local police officer. A deputy district attorney was reviewing videotape evidence of a CA DUI arrest when he noticed substantial differences between the footage and Officer Brandon Mullock’s written arrest report.
Scully opened an inquiry and determined that Sacramento Police Officer Mullock, 24, had likely falsified at least one piece of evidence in each of the 79 cases that were dismissed. According to the DA’s office, the discrepancies included legally unsound decisions to detain motorists, wild inaccuracies in field interviews and misuse of preliminary alcohol screening.
California DUI defense lawyers suspect that quotas, overtime pay, awards and possible promotion contribute to an officer’s observations and actions when it comes to touchstone issues like drinking and driving. Evidence, they claim, is susceptible to interpretation, and, as proved by Mullock, falsification.
Scully said that prosecutors must not simply seek to win a case but to proceed only when there is trustworthy and legally obtained evidence. He cited it as a fundamental part of the US system of justice. The District Attorney’s office is working with the defendants to help remedy the damage with insurance companies and employers caused by the falsely obtained DUI convictions.
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