COMMUNITY SAYS COP WHO LIED ABOUT SHOOTING MUST BE CRIMINALLY CHARGED (VIDEO)

Let’s say you shot yourself. And you blamed a nonexistant black man for it. Then it is discovered that you lied. What would happen to you? Is there any possible way you could just be made to pay for the entire manhunt that ensued, or would more come down on your head – like a judge’s gavel? Well, the City of Philadelphia wants you to believe that when a police officer does such a thing that along with him being fired is all we should expect from such a situation. In other words, if you weren’t a police officer, somehow there is a scenario where all of this will go down and nothing really will happen to you. You would not even see criminal charges. It never ceases to amaze us the underhanded things that go on in the name of the policeman’s badge in this town, but this is one that really takes the cake. Last year, Sgt. Robert Ralston, who is depicted in the flyer in the picture, made news after claiming being shot by the aforemention nonexistant black man. A manhunt ensued, his superiors learned he lied and on May 11 of last year, he was suspended. One year later, folks stood across from the District Attorney’s office to demand why he has not been charged. We were there to cover the whole thing, and you can see the video from the rally here. Seriously, there is only but so much you can defend in the name of the badge. Sgt. Ralston needs to be the last one who thinks he can get away with crap like this, because the next cop that tries to pull it might end up getting ruining someone’s life – which is not to suggest it hasn’t happened.

Philadelphia Tribune

A rally outside the District Attorney’s office was held Wednesday calling for the prosecution of a disgraced white Philadelphia police sergeant who shot himself in the shoulder last year and then claimed that he was wounded by a Black man.

Criminal defense attorneys Michael Coard and Willie Nattiel were among those leading a rally calling for District Attorney Seth Williams to prosecute former Sgt. Robert Ralston.

Ralston was fired from the department following an investigation into a self-inflicted shooting that happened on April 5, 2010. Ralston claimed that two Black men shot him, but based on numerous inconsistencies, investigators quickly decided that Ralston had shot himself and lied about it. During the course of the investigation, a proffer was made in order to elicit a confession from Ralson. The agreement was that Ralston’s statement would not be used against him if the DA’s office decided to prosecute, but that any other evidence uncovered would be.

“Justice delayed is not justice denied,” Coard said, when asked why he is still pursuing this issue more than a year later. “If some people say this is much ado about nothing, I say hogwash. When (other offenders) commit a crime they have to fear the police and the district attorney. But when the police commit a crime who do they have to fear? All accused criminals need to fear law enforcement.”

More than a year later, no one has come forward with any eyewitness testimony, and no new evidence has been found to warrant further action by the district attorney’s office.

“We’ve no new information in this case, and no one has come forward other than Ralston himself,” said Tasha Jamerson, spokesperson for the DA’s office.

Coard said that the district attorney’s office doesn’t need new evidence in order to go after Ralston. According to Coard, Williams could take Ralston into court using statements he made before the proffer.

“Ralston wasn’t given immunity initially,” Coard said. “Early during the investigation they found he was lying about what happened. Whatever he said before the proffer can be used, and Seth knows this. The pre-immunity statements can be used, and can be compounded with the fact that Ralston illegally discharged his weapon, that gunpowder residue was found on his uniform and that a gunshot wound was inflicted. The DA goes to trial all of the time with circumstantial evidence. They go to trial every day with less than this. The district attorney is refusing to file charges against a criminal.”

In an earlier interview about the case, Williams said there was no agreement of non-prosecution. He also said that as repulsive as Ralston’s comment and actions were, a person couldn’t be arrested and prosecuted without evidence.

“As repulsive as his statement was that two Black men shot him, I can’t prosecute him for that,” Williams said. “First, he shot himself, and second, to blame it on a specific group of people is a common scene of the racial stereotype that pours gasoline on already sensitive issues in the Black community. I was personally angry that he blamed it on a Black man. We followed up on this investigation very quickly and found a lot of inconsistencies, but there was nothing we could hang our hat on. What we wanted to get at was the truth. There was no agreement of immunity from prosecution, no deal of non-prosecution, but there was a proffer. What that means is that his statement couldn’t be used against him, but any other evidence could be and if there were sufficient evidence to prosecute, we would. The detectives got him to confess. We wanted to take away his gun and his badge and we did that.”

Ralston, a 21-year veteran of the department, admitted to homicide detectives that his story about being shot and wounded by two African American males on April 5 was false and that he actually shot himself. Investigators speculated that he did this to get a transfer out of his unit.

During the course of the investigation, at one point Ralston was shown a line-up of suspects but the person he identified as the possible shooter was in jail when the incident took place. Also, investigators were so concerned about Ralston’s inconsistencies that the manhunt throughout the West Philadelphia community where the falsely reported shooting occurred was scaled back.

Coard said that manhunt could have caused significant problems.

“Basically every Black male in that vicinity became a potential victim of police misconduct. He jeopardized every Black male in that area,” Coard said. “When a police officer is shot some fellow officer could have been more inclined to cross the line — shoot first and ask questions later. Look at it this way, if Jamal from North Philly shoots himself and blames it on a white police officer and is found to be lying, is the district attorney’s office just going to drop it? Does Jamal, a poor and Black civilian get immunity? Of course not. Some criminal charges are going to be applied. We’re saying the same thing needs to happen in this case.”

Williams said that what happens in some cases where an officer is accused of misconduct is that they do lose their jobs, but often get them back during arbitration and with back pay.

On Wednesday, when asked about Coard’s allegation that Ralston has immunity from prosecution, District Attorney Seth Williams emphatically said his office did not offer to provide Ralston with immunity for information on the night he was shot. He stood behind his actions and said his office took a badge from a man who was not fit to be a police officer.

“My office did, however, compel Sgt. Ralston to answer questions regarding his actions on that night. And because he was compelled to respond, his statement to us legally cannot be used against him,” Williams said. “We took this action because we believed it was critically important to find out the truth about what occurred on that night, and there were no other witnesses. As a result of our investigation we took a badge, a gun and a job from a person whose actions proved he was unfit to be a police officer. Other than his statement, no sufficient evidence exists to charge him with false reports or any other crimes. Since April of 2010, I have consistently encourag
ed anyone with actual first hand knowledge to provide that information to my office, and I do so again. My office and I, personally, consistently demonstrate our sensitivity and commitment to serving the need for justice for African Americans and all citizens of Philadelphia on a daily basis.”

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