State Attorney Aramis Ayala Releases Her "Bad Cops" List

https://filtermag.org/ayala-bad-cops/

State Attorney Aramis Ayala, the progressive top prosecutor of Orange County, Florida, has released her office’s list of ethically compromised cops for the first time.

Prosecutors usually keep secret Brady lists, as they’re known, to meet legal requirements for disclosing exculpatory evidence to defense attorneys. This became necessary after the Supreme Court decision in Brady v. Maryland, which created the requirement. Until the modern progressive prosecutor wave started in 2015, releasing these lists was seen as highly taboo, and it remains a surefire way to get on the bad side of influential local police unions.

Ayala does not have to worry about the unions now scuttling her re-election bid, since she opted to not run for a second term. Citing that reality, Filter originally called for the release of her list in April.

According to local news reports, 38 cops from eight local law enforcement agencies are included on the list. Many of them have since retired or resigned, but all were included because of their involvement in open cases. While it is hard to imagine that only 38 cops in a jurisdiction covering 1.5 million residents have documented ethical issues, the released list, compiled only in 2019, is a new beginning for police accountability in this major metro area.

*snip*