Why no official misconduct charges?

[Hipocrito Mejia]

I wonder why instead of sending home the police officers mentioned in the article below, they weren't sent to jail instead and charged with official misconduct. Unless the police's top brass gets tough with their own and ends the practice of sweeping these incidents under the rug, corruption and lawlessness within the ranks will never end.

http://www.hoy.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=81780

"Por otro lado, el jefe de la Policía Nacional, mayor general Bernardo Santana Páez, dio a conocer los nombres de los agentes que dieron positivos en una prueba antidoping realizada el pasado lunes 26 a los integrantes de la dotación policial de aquí.

Según el jefe de la Policía, los rasos José Antonio García Liranzo, Julio Cesar Izquierdo Rosario, José Antonio Reinoso Mercado y José Andrés Abreu García ya fueron cancelados y enviados a sus casas."

[Hipocrito Mejia]

I'm surprised that this has been viewed so many times and yet nobody has commented on it.

I posted this because I thought that this particular incident, with the high level of publicity that it has garnered, presented a great opportunity for this administration to send a message to the country and to put an end to a practice that has been condoned for so many years and by every previous administration that has been in power in DR.

Charging these officers with crimes would have been a good starting point for the administration to show that they are serious about putting an end to business as usual and about fighting crime.

[Rick Snyder]

HM,

I understand what you are saying and where you are coming from but in reality it is “business as usual”.

Due to the fact that the NP have their own judicial system separate then that which all other citizens, except military, are subjected to these types of actions will continue. This has been implemented into the rules and laws governing the NP. It is because of this separation of power that the police are in reality immune from prosecution in all of their actions except for those that are so blatant that they can’t get away with doing nothing and are forced to show an attempt to correct the situation. In the case you mentioned the “sending home”, “suspension without pay” or “termination” are considered punishment enough whereas a regular citizen would go before a civil judge and be fined and possible jailed for the same crime.

As all militaries have their own judicial system their misconduct is rightfully administered by their system. The only reason that I can understand for the police of this nation having a system separate from that of the other citizens is because the constitution places that entity under the direct command of the president as is the military. One of those things that should be changed within the constitution.

Rick