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The vile texts from law enforcement officers Proctor and Goode are not merely disturbingly offensive; they reveal deeply rooted prejudices, as well as a dark, seething hostility and hatred directed at entire groups of people.
These revelations are particularly troubling because they undermine public confidence not only with respect to their investigations, but also in the many law enforcement officers and investigators who work diligently and ethically every day to conduct fair, unbiased investigations in search of the truth.
There can be no rationale whatsoever that documented, indefensible, and flagrant biases can somehow be viewed in isolation without impacting the very integrity of an investigation, the evidence, and the testimony of biased investigators.
Law enforcement investigators exercise enormous discretion. This is where hateful prejudices and biases can influence the very trajectory of an investigation. Investigators decide which leads to pursue or not to pursue, which witnesses to interview or not to interview, what evidence is significant, what alternative theories deserve scrutiny, and ultimately how an investigation unfolds.
Deep rooted biases as seen in the texts impact those decisions, undermining the very constitutional safeguards that exist to protect the accused. Those protections completely collapse in the face of flagrant biases that undermine both the due process and sixth amendment rights of those accused of crimes.