Thursday, August 27, 2015

Peter Bisciglia: Statement Versus Video Example


I work with some of the finest law enforcement officials in the country.  They love their work, they believe in service, and they believe in using their intellect to diffuse difficult situations, and their training to get to the truth.

When a police officer is seen abusing his officer, they all feel the sting.

When a video of an event emerges, it allows us to see our analysis confirmed.  Sometimes, we do not have a news story until both the statement and the video are released; at the same time.

Here we have a statement regarding a physical altercation between a police officer and a citizen released to media alongside of the video release.
 First, the Statement, then the Analysis, and then the video. Following this is the local news story of the case.

A statement can differ from a video without being deceptive.  Errors are made and should you or I be "incorrect", it will not show up as deception because the intent to deceive is absent.

Also, a video can be a different angle than one's own eyesight, and, as we have repeatedly seen, our own experiences can color our "verbalized perception of reality."

This, too, is not necessarily deception, but perception.

This now leads us to an entirely different level which is unique and a great opportunity for analysis:


If you knew that a video tape of what you just did existed, and it will be compared to your statement, and are told this before you write your statement, would you lie?

If, under the microscope of definitive proof:  an actual video tape of what happened, which is stronger than eye witness testimonies,  the subject is deceptive, the subject is announcing that he is one of the rare outright liars, who fabricates reality, and is utterly confident in his own abilities to deceive.  If he lies, knowing a video exists of which his statement will be compared to, his testimony on every case he has ever been involved in, is now suspect.

Also, if true, he besmirches the reputations of every honorable law enforcement official in the country, at a time when it is particularly sensitive and much of the 'bad apple' reporting has been dramatically disproportionate to truthful reporting of all the good that is done by police.

The biggest question is:  Would you lie if you were told a video existed of your actions?


It is only when one signals intent to deceive that we pick up the sensitivity in language.e

I.  The statement

"I told Ainsley he was under arrest he again pushed himself back towards me. At this time, I feared that Ainsley would become physically combative towards me. I assume a defensive stance and pushed Ainsley away from me to put distance between myself and he. At that time, Ainsley stumbled as he was trying to push towards me. Ainsley fell to the ground."

The subject is police officer Peter Bisciglia and Ainsley is the man arrested.  


II.  The analysis


When the officer first filed his report, he left out any information of a physical altercation.  His superior was testing the dash cam to make certain it worked, and saw the altercation and asked the officer to write out what happened, as well as "Why did you leave it out?"  He did not give a satisfactory answer.  


"I told Ainsley he was under arrest he again pushed himself back towards me. At this time, I feared that Ainsley would become physically combative towards me. I assume a defensive stance and pushed Ainsley away from me to put distance between myself and he. At that time, Ainsley stumbled as he was trying to push towards me. Ainsley fell to the ground."

Note that "told" is appropriate, since he is in the position of authority.  
Note "again" indicates missing information that has not been reported since he has not reported the "first" pushing. 

"At this time, I feared" is to include a specific emotion at the perfect or logical point of the account; a signal that it is placed there artificially.  Yet, we do not conclude deception on this alone.  

It is, however, something much more sensitive:

"I assume" is to use his fear to explain why he took a particular posture. 
He has not been asked, "Why did you...?", instead, pre-empts the question.

Also, note the change from past tense verb to present tense

This is not "I was assuming", as in an incomplete activity, but the straight present tense, "I assume", which is not only unreliable, but when taken in the hyper sensitive "because" mode, is deceptive.  The emotion here is, in fact, an artificial placement and is another indicator of deception.  

Did you note "at this time" became "that" time, with distancing language?  He did not mind psychologically associating with "this" time, where he informed the suspect he was under arrest, but when it came to the altercation, he distances himself with the word "that" in his language.  Even when trying to deceive, knowing that video exists, he is unable to tell the truth.  

"Ashley fell to the ground" is straight forward language and is true, just as "I told Ainsely he was under arrest" is true.  But it ends there.  The change in the statement indicates deception.  

Deception Indicated

There are enough indicators to conclude that the portion of "what happened" is deceptive. 

Police should be very concerned that the subject may have sociopathic like tendencies, as his confidence in his own ability to deceive is extreme, which indicates a life long 'practice' or habitual manner, in which he has experienced many successes in deceiving others.  

This "success" means that he holds the world in contempt, as beneath him, able to be deceived by him.  

He is a blight to their department.  



III  The video








IV>   The News Story


FOX6 News has obtained new video that shows an incident that led to a Kenosha police officer receiving a 60-day suspension. Authorities say it was an unjustified use of force — and on top of that, the officer’s report did not match the video.
Kenosha police say at first, they did not get a citizen complaint about this incident. Instead, they say the investigation started when a supervisor was doing a routine check of dashcam video. He saw something that led him to pull up the incident report.
It does look bad. The video looks terrible,” said Lt. Brad Hetlet of the Kenosha Police Department.
The sight of Officer Peter Bisciglia shoving a man to the ground, his head hitting the pavement, got the attention of Kenosha police supervisors. They were looking for something very different.
“To make sure the microphones are on, the squad videos are working properly. And in doing so, the captain on second shift came across a video he thought needed to be looked into,” said Hetlet.
Police went to Westown Foods in Kenosha on January 27th for a shoplifting call. According to the initial report, Bisciglia described the scene as “chaotic” and he “didn’t know who was friend or foe.”

On the indoor surveillance video, a man with a red hat seems to touch Bisciglia’s shoulder to get his attention. The officer responds by knocking his hand away — and then shoving the man back. Bisciglia does not mention this in his incident report.

“Credibility is everything when you’re a police officer. You have to be a credible witness for the state for prosecution purposes and we expect certain things of our officers,” said Hetlet.

Bisciglia then shoves another man outside the front door — knocking him to the sidewalk.
According to the internal investigation documents, Kenosha police brought in an outside use-of-force expert. He described Bisciglia’s actions as “unreasonable” and “probably based on emotion rather than sound tactics.”

“Most officers do the right things for the right reasons. In this case, we found there were policy violations. He didn’t do the right things for the right reasons and he was disciplined for it,” said Hetlet.
Bisciglia was suspended in May, but will continue to serve the suspension into next year. That’s because his punishment is broken down to six days a month for ten months. Police say that’s also to limit the financial hardship on the officer — and to keep him ineligible for unemployment benefits.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Peter, please consider ridding yourself of that ID10T that operates your blog security. Computers are more apt to know what dishes have cabbage baked in them than an eye witness who may mistake cabbage for romaine, mustard, or even collard greens. Who really knows the difference between what most have come to know as a waffle or a fat crepe cooked in a hurry on a waffle grille.

Aspergers may make one soundsmart, but is it really true?

Juliet said...

It's a great question, though I don't know if it's only intended rhetorically. A good police officer, or anyone else, should not behave in such a way to begin. Still, for whatever reason, there is a violent incident. An honest person would want and intend to give a true account whether or not they know a recording exists, so the question is /should be void - lying is not a consideration, much less an option. I think it quite likely that anyone in a comparable situation might be inclined to justify, minimise and explain their actions more than they might if there were no recording -some degree of that would be understandable, though I don't know if it would be inevitable, only that an honourable person would not seek to justify themselves at the expense of the truth/other person. It would be more 'I had a bad day', 'I feel terrible..', 'I over-reacted..'etc - which may or may not be quite true, but would still be self-accusatory rather than a misrepresentation of the other.

Scary police guy - the statement is incomprehensible in light of the video.

BallBounces said...

Peter -- Just for clarity -- one of the meanings of assume is to take a position: "to place oneself in "

This usage of assume indicates an action rather than a mental activity.

John Mc Gowan said...

OT Update:

Missing baby Janna Rivera’s father arrested, preliminarily charged with murder

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Aug. 27, 2015)– The father of missing baby Janna Rivera was arrested Thursday in Marion County and preliminarily charged with murder and neglect of a dependent resulting in death.

In July, Jeff Fairbanks said he put Janna, who was 3 months old at the time, in a dumpster. Her body has never been located.

Investigators with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) told CBS4 previously that Fairbanks is the only person of interest in this case. Fairbanks told investigators Janna died in her sleep.

IMPD says the mother called 911 the following morning to report her daughter missing. Deputies with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office served a protection order against the Fairbanks a few days later.

Officers searched the dumpster, the landfill connected to that route and several nearby retention ponds day after day hoping to find baby Janna.

http://cbs4indy.com/2015/08/27/missing-baby-janna-riveras-father-arrested-preliminarily-charged-with-murder/

Statement Analysis Blog said...

BallBounces said...
Peter -- Just for clarity -- one of the meanings of assume is to take a position: "to place oneself in "

This usage of assume indicates an action rather than a mental activity.

end quote



He used it as a bodily position. The notion of it being a mental activity is not part of the analysis. It is highlighted for 'the reason why' something is done, not as an assumption.

Peter

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Peter, please consider ridding yourself of that ID10T that operates your blog security. Computers are more apt to know what dishes have cabbage baked in them than an eye witness who may mistake cabbage for romaine, mustard, or even collard greens. Who really knows the difference between what most have come to know as a waffle or a fat crepe cooked in a hurry on a waffle grille.

Aspergers may make one soundsmart, but is it really true?

August 27, 2015 at 3:15 PM Delete



It tortures my soul. It shows up only at times, and I do not seem to be able to rid the blog of it. I will continue to try.

Peter

Anonymous said...

OT Any comments on this particular story? http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/08/24/exclusive-joe-bidens-son-ashley-madison-account-was-created-in-my-name-by-americas-enemies/

“I am certain that the account in question is not mine,” Biden told Breitbart News. “This account was clearly set up by someone else without my knowledge and I first learned about the account in question from the media.”

“In fact, I no longer use the email address linked to this account as I became aware that this email account may have been compromised,” Biden said. “This is unfortunately not the first time that someone has used my name and identity to try to discredit me.”

“From my understanding through press accounts, it is very easy to set up an account without someone’s knowledge as there is no requirement that an email address be verified and I am certain that is what happened in this case,” Biden said.

John Mc Gowan said...

OT:

Woman charged with faking abduction in Manalapan

http://www.app.com/story/news/crime/jersey-mayhem/2015/08/28/manalapan-abduction-faked/71299872/

John Mc Gowan said...

OT Update:

New charges against man held after Lonzie Barton's disappearance include attempted escape

The man being held after the disappearance of toddler Lonzie Barton has been charged with an attempted escape from jail, the Sheriff’s Office said.
William Ruben Ebron Jr., 32, who was arrested July 24 on two counts of child neglect, had four more charges added Thursday after an inmate revealed the escape plan to authorities, according to a new Sheriff’s Office arrest report.

Details of the plan — launched the same day of Ebron’s arrest — include a plastic handcuff key, a waiting getaway vehicle and recorded conversations with a fellow inmate, according to the report.

The new charges include unlawful possession of a concealed handcuff key, introducing or smuggling contraband into a detention facility, criminal conspiracy and escape or attempt to escape from a prison, jail, road camp or other penal institution, according to jail records.

An unidentified inmate who had been housed with Ebron met with authorities Monday to give details of the plan, according to the report.

The inmate said Ebron showed him an orange piece of plastic that could be used as a handcuff key the day of Ebron’s arrest, the report said. Ebron told the inmate he had been concealing the key in his mouth or sock and had tried it when he was previously handcuffed for court.

The inmate said Ebron wanted to make his getaway while being transported in the jail van by unlocking his handcuffs and jumping out of the van, then running to a waiting car, the report said. He told the inmate his driver was incarcerated so he needed help finding someone else to drive, the reports said.

The inmate then recorded a conversation with Ebron July 24, which is the same day of his arrest.

During the conversation Ebron gave the inmate an orange plastic key so the two could escape together and Ebron said he had another key for himself, the report said, so the inmate was able to provide the orange piece of plastic to authorities.

In another recorded conversation between Ebron and the inmate Ebron said they needed to shave the key down some to ensure it was usable, according to the report.

Ebron told the inmate he tried the key on a trip to court in Baker County but was unsuccessful due to one of the handcuffs being a different size than the other, according to the report.

The inmate told authorities Ebron showed him the second key during the second recorded conversation and that key was black and appeared to be a handcuff key.

The report says Ebron did not deny any of the statements involving streets, directions and the keys in these recorded conversations..

Twenty-one-month-old Lonzie was reported missing July 24. Ebron has been jailed since the toddler went missing. On Aug. 18, police also arrested his girlfriend Lonna Lauramore Barton, the 25-year-old mother of Lonzie, on charges of child neglect and giving false information to law enforcement but Barton was released on bond Monday.

http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2015-08-27/story/new-charges-against-man-held-after-lonzie-bartons-disappearance-include

Trigger said...

Cops are human. I know that I've had interaction with an unreasonable cop. I agreed with everything the cop said to diffuse his anger, while he rejected my efforts to comply. I went to court with my evidence. I was exonerated.

I'm glad that there is a policy in place that allows the offending officer a way to correct the err without loosing his job. I know that the stressed out cop that pulled me over was given time off also.

Is there a way for the victim to receive justice without "throwing out the baby with the bath water?"

Yes

The judge in my case was apologetic. I accepted the apology.

Vance Holmes said...

The officer's distancing language in "at this time" and "and that time" is so clear here because the two phrases are used in such close proximity.