Police brutality extends beyond physical violence and can also involve deceitful and ruthless behaviors like lying, escalating conflicts, and tampering with evidence.
In a recent incident reported by Our Tallahassee (OT), a 56-year-old man named Calvin Riley Sr. was targeted by a white female police officer, Kiersten Oliver, who falsely accused him of driving under the influence. Oliver went to the extent of fabricating evidence during the arrest.
After stopping Riley, the officer claimed he was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol. She then proceeded to search his car and found a sealed bottle of alcohol, which she emptied on the ground, and placed back in his car in an attempt to incriminate him.
The entire incident was captured on the officer’s body camera, clearly showing the planting of evidence.
Body camera video shows Tallahassee Police Department Officer planting evidence in a DUI arrest.
The video shows Officer Oliver pouring out a sealed bottle of liquor and tossing it in Calvin Riley Sr.’s passenger seat before arresting Riley for a DUI. pic.twitter.com/bVZklLAXyC
— Our Tallahassee (@OurTallahassee) April 3, 2024
This act of evidence tampering was part of a clear strategy to unjustly arrest Riley, even though he had only recently received a suspended license notification and officers had the discretion not to arrest him as a first-time offender.
During the legal proceedings, Oliver claimed she emptied the bottle based on a supposed TPD policy prohibiting the retention of liquids as evidence. However, this policy was found to be non-existent during her deposition.
Riley’s DUI trial is set to commence on April 5, with hopes that he will be cleared of all charges and seek reparation from the Tallahassee Police Department and the officer involved in the malicious act.
