PATTY PRESS CONFERENCE STATEMENTS

CHERI MAPLES October 5^th, 2006

Although I am not proud of being one of the people who, with the best of intentions, initially contributed to the horrible re-victimization of an innocent victim and the injustices that took place in this case, I think Patty’s case will always serve as an example of how very competent, ethical, well-intentioned, and community-oriented police officers and detectives, in one of the most progressive police departments I am aware of, are capable of human error. 

It shows how tunnel vision works, and how flawed investigative practices and interrogation techniques can compel innocent people to confess to things they did not do under pressure.

More important, the case is a very powerful personal reminder to me of how important it is to have humility when you have the authority of the state behind you. It is an important reminder of the fact that human error can occur with the best of intentions. It is a personal reminder of the importance of being willing to admit when we are wrong.

It has been a personal reminder that the police are responsible for breathing life into the values of a democracy. By doing so, they must never let the temptation to close ranks to protect their own undermine the provision of justice for all.

IMPORTANT PARTS OF THE RESOLUTION:

The city of Madison, which includes the Madison police Department apologize. While this is probably too little too late and does not make much difference to Patty at this time, it recognizes that human error is forgiveable. However, the unwillingness to admit and correct mistakes at the expense of innocent victims is not.

That is why the parts of this resolution that recognize the need to financially compensate Patty for the extraordinary amount of legal expenses and lost wages is very important.

Many of us involved in this case stood behind the proposition that because we did nothing wrong legally, we are not required to do so. However, how long will we let the typical bureaucratic response of liability or no liability interfere with our willingness to do the right thing? Compensating Patty financially is the right thing to do.

I’m proud to live in a city where the executive branch of government, led by Mayor Dave Cheslevitch (ph.) and members of the city council are willing to recognize that.

I want to say one thing about the resolution that has to do with the MPD policy around interview and interrogation practices. While I think this part of the resolution makes a powerful statement, I sincerely believe Chief Wray will work to produce the right policy standards in this area with or without such a resolution.