Officers threatened to kill the dog of Thomas Perez Jr as they pressured him to falsely confess to killing his father, who was alive

A California city has agreed to pay $900,000 to a man who was subjected to a 17-hour police interrogation in which officers pressured him to falsely confess to murdering his father, who was alive.

During the 2018 interrogation of Thomas Perez Jr by police in Fontana, a city east of Los Angeles, officers suggested they would have Perez’s dog euthanized as a result of his actions, according to a complaint and footage of the encounter. A judge said the questioning appeared to be “unconstitutional psychological torture”, and the city agreed to settle Perez’s lawsuit for $898,000, his lawyer announced this week.

The extraordinary case of a coerced false confession has sparked widespread outrage, with footage showing Perez in extreme emotional and physical distress, including as officers brought his dog in and said the animal would need to be put down due to “depression” from witnessing a murder that had not actually occurred.

  • Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    441·
    7 months ago

    There was a Breaking Bad ( or maybe Better Call Saul?) Episode where a character was hauled in for questioning and the only reply he would give was “Lawyer.” That’s exactly what someone should do in that situation.

    • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
      221·
      7 months ago

      Don’t be rude or annoying, but yeah. Pretty much.

      Probably won’t get into trouble if you tell a cop at a traffic stop that you’re going home from work, unless you’re drunk off your socks, but generally it’s best to politely not answer.

    • NoIWontPickAName@kbin.earth
      17·
      7 months ago

      You need to actively and clearly say you are invoking your fifth amendment privileges to not answer questions and that you want a lawyer.

      Do not use slang, there are dirty judges out there that will rule against you if you say “I want my lawyer dog”

      Me know what it means, but the legal system will deliberately trip you, that dog thing is an actual example