you're going over old ground; this has been argued now ad nauseum.
This is a case of "he said she said" on the part of the police and Shutter. What clouds this case was that Shutter (and others) were discouraged against filing with the citizen's review board; one of the officers in question has personal ties to Chief Tuffey leading to questions of how "impartial" an internal investigation would be; and the rational for the stop / checking of the cell phone calls is questionable at best. Shutter's mother called the Times Union to investigate and stop what she felt was continued harassment of her daughter.
Maybe you don't have a problem with it but I have a problem with desperate citizens turning to the media to get a fair investigation OUTSIDE of internal affairs. Of course the public confidence is high after Bonnani, gun scandals, Tuffy coverups, etc.
Here's a start: let's all chip in and buy a few patrol car cameras and the following software for the APD (for a fraction of the Bonnani settlement):
http://www.leadatatech.com/administrative.html
Administrative / Internal Affairs Software Suite
Use of Force
Officer Involved Accidents
Complaints
Awards
Personnel Documents and Events
This software will enable management to maintain records at a touch of a button regarding your staff's use of force, complaints, officer involved accidents, awards, personnel files and events that are occurring in their lives that may be distractions. Be prepared as an administrator in case you're subpoenaed to court!
Early Warning Alerts
Includes early warning alert features that let you set the limit on the number of chargeable accidents, citizen complaints, and use of force incidents and events that an officer can be involved with, within the time period that you establish. On-screen warnings alert you when those limits have been met, alerting you to a potential problem officer.
Includes alerts for when evaluations are due and when merit increases are due.
