A former South Florida police chief was recently sentenced to three years in prison for framing black people for crimes they did not commit, in order to boost his department’s crime-solving staff. At least one of the people he framed was a 16-year-old boy.
#RaimundoAtesiano was the former police chief of the Biscayne Park Police Department in Miami-Dade County. The 53-year-old was sentenced by a federal judge on Tuesday for conspiracy to deprive individuals of their civil right, according to @Huffpost.
One of Atesiano’s victims served five years for a crime he did not commit. His conviction was tossed by a judge in September and he has filed a federal lawsuit that accuses the town and its former officers of violating his civil rights.
“When I took the job, I was not prepared,” Atesiano told the judge before his sentencing. “I made some very, very bad decisions.” Atesiano was reportedly given a two-week break before having to report to prison, allowing him to spend time with his mother, who is terminally ill.
Atesiano was not the only one who went down in the investigation. One month ago, three former Biscayne Park officers — Guillermo Ravelo, Charlie Dayoub and Raul Fernandez — were sentenced for their participation in the scheme.
Prosecutors argued that Atesiano on three occasions ordered the officers to falsely arrest and charge three people for unsolved burglaries. One of those arrested was just 16 years old when he was falsely accused.
Davoub and Fernandez were each sentenced to one year in prison and Ravelo was sentenced to 27 months.
“Putting an arrest statistic above the rights of an innocent man instead of working to protect all our citizens undermines the safety goals of every Miami-Dade police department,” said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in a statement. “Miami-Dade’s residents deserve honesty and integrity, qualities that Raimundo Atesiano deliberately failed to deliver.”
TSR STAFF: Christina C! @cdelafresh
