Police credibility

SUFFOLK County jurors are known for being skeptical of law enforcement practices. Recent acquittals in two especially heinous murders in Boston suggest that such skepticism has turned to outright mistrust.

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This week, despite formidable evidence, a jury acquitted a man charged with the 2002 murder of 3-year-old Malik Andrade Percival during an apparent Dorchester home invasion. In April, a man was acquitted of the 1999 killing of his pregnant 14-year-old girlfriend, Chauntae Jones, despite his tape-recorded statement to police that he was present at the murder scene.

It's tempting to attribute such cases to what Wendy Murphy, a professor at New England School of Law, calls "dumb jury syndrome." But police personnel and policies play a significant role in such acquittals.

Jurors in both cases were openly critical of the documentation practices and interrogation techniques of Daniel Keeler, the lead detective in both cases. Prosecutors countered that some Suffolk County jurors are quick to attach the most sinister motives to minor errors by detectives. Regardless, Keeler had allowed himself to become a lightning rod. And on Monday, a jury is scheduled to be impaneled in the case against two men charged with the 2002 murder of Trina Persad, a 10-year-old passerby who was shot during an outbreak of gang violence. Keeler also led that investigation.

The Boston Police need to pay more careful attention to deployment. A disproportionate number of cases landed on Keeler's night shift squad, which worked 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. The Boston Police maintain three squads of homicide detectives on the day shift and two at night. That seems imbalanced given high levels of criminal activity at night.

Law enforcement officials in Boston do recognize, however, that there is intrinsic distrust of police in many urban areas. An important effort is underway by Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley and Boston Police Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole to maximize public confidence.

Officers who conduct live lineups and photo arrays, says Conley, are no longer made aware of the identity of the suspect, eliminating concerns that police tilt witnesses with conscious or subconscious cues. Officers in Boston also present lineup participants sequentially rather than simultaneously. This new practice reduces the problem of witnesses who choose a suspect from a lineup who looks most like the offender compared to others, even if the offender is not present. The reality in Suffolk County is that some jurors will scrutinize the actions of police more carefully than the actions of suspects. The police, therefore, must always be above suspicion, and present the most credible evidence possible.