{"id":21376,"date":"2016-03-15T19:55:18","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T02:55:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=21376"},"modified":"2016-03-15T19:57:50","modified_gmt":"2016-03-16T02:57:50","slug":"former-sheriffs-capt-withheld-information-favorable-man-police-beat-sentenced-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=21376","title":{"rendered":"Former Sheriff’s Capt. Who Withheld Information Favorable to a Defendant Sentenced to Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Capt.
Former Capt. Elizabeth Croley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Former Capt.\u00a0Elizabeth Croley<\/strong>, 37, with the Decatur County, Georgia, Sheriff\u2019s Office, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for willfully withholding evidence favorable to a criminal defendant and for writing a false report to cover up another law enforcement officer\u2019s use of force against a civilian, officials announced today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Robert Wade Umbach<\/strong>, 36, and Christopher Kines<\/strong>, 36, both former deputies at the Decatur County Sheriff\u2019s Office, were also sentenced to 15 months in prison for making false statements to help cover up the use of force.<\/span><\/p>\n

In June 2015, a federal jury in Albany, Georgia, convicted the defendants after a trial that lasted more than two weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen law enforcement officers break the laws they swear to uphold and harm the people they promise to protect, it undermines public trust in our government,\u201d said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Rights Division<\/strong>. \u201cIf officers try to lie or withhold evidence, we will vigorously protect the integrity of our justice system by holding them accountable for their actions and safeguarding the civil rights of all Americans.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The charges arose from a September 2012 incident in which former Grady County, Georgia, Deputy Sheriff Wiley Griffin IV<\/strong> \u2013 who is the son of Decatur County Sheriff Wiley Griffin III<\/strong> \u2013 used force against Aaron Parrish during an arrest at the Bainbridge BikeFest.<\/span><\/p>\n

The jury found that Croley, Kines and Umbach obstructed justice when they later helped cover up the younger Griffin\u2019s actions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, the jury convicted Croley of obstructing justice by writing a false report and convicted Kines and Umbach of engaging in misleading conduct by lying to an FBI agent about the incident.<\/span><\/p>\n

Croley was also convicted of violating Aaron Parrish\u2019s<\/strong> constitutionally protected right to a fair trial by intentionally withholding material exculpatory evidence from the district attorney\u2019s office, and in turn, from Aaron Parrish\u2019s criminal defense attorney during a criminal prosecution of Parrish.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the trial, officials said the jury heard evidence that Griffin struck Parrish in the eye with a metal flashlight while Parrish was being restrained on the ground by other deputies, including defendants Kines and Umbach.<\/span><\/p>\n

The government also presented evidence that, after Parrish complained to the Decatur County Sheriff\u2019s Office about the abuse he had suffered at BikeFest, the sheriff\u2019s office opened a criminal investigation led by Croley that eventually resulted in felony criminal charges against Parrish.<\/span><\/p>\n

During that investigation, Croley took a witness statement from a civilian eyewitness who provided information that would have been materially helpful to Parrish\u2019s defense.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, rather than providing that statement to the district attorney so that it could then be provided to Parrish\u2019s defense attorney for use at trial, Croley intentionally removed the exculpatory statement from the case file. This conduct formed the basis of the civil rights charge on which Croley was convicted.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe public rightfully depends on law enforcement officers to uphold the law faithfully,\u201d said Acting U.S. Attorney G.F. \u201cPete\u201d Peterman of Georgia. \u201cWhen these defendants withheld important facts and provided false information in this investigation, they subverted the entire process and damaged the public’s faith in the integrity of their former fellow officers. They fully deserve the sentences meted out to them today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The FBI investigated this case.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n