10 Times the Police Framed People

Top 10 Times the Police Framed People

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Times the Police Framed People.

For this list, we’ll be looking at the most controversial instances where law enforcement officials fabricated evidence or illegally influenced investigation outcomes to implicate innocent people. These cases involved plots that went beyond police bias and coercive interrogation. We'll be covering those in another list.

What other police frame-ups have YOU heard about? Let us know in the comments.

#10: David Ranta

On February 8th 1990, Chaskel Werzberger, a Hasidic rabbi living in Brooklyn was murdered during a botched robbery. Despite the lack of any physical evidence implicating him, David Ranta was arrested and charged with the crime. Multiple witnesses pointed Ranta out as the perpetrator and Detective Louis Scarcella of the NYPD claimed that he had confessed. Ranta was found guilty and handed a 37-year sentence. However, decades later, one of the witnesses admitted that he had been coached by Scarcella to pick Ranta out of a lineup. Further investigation also showed that the detective had secured incriminating testimonies from two other witnesses by providing them with inappropriate favors. Ranta’s conviction was ultimately vacated and he was awarded millions of dollars in compensation.

#9: Arthur Allan Thomas

Harvey and Jeannette Crewe were two New Zealand farmers who were killed on their farm in June 1970. Authorities first suspected Jeannette’s father of the crime due to some familial dispute between the two. But when Jeannette’s body was found about two months later, police turned towards Arthur Allan Thomas, a neighboring farmer. Thomas was convicted twice of the murders after an empty bullet shell linked to his rifle was found on the Crewe farm. Due to an outcry from the farming community, the case was re-examined. It was discovered that police had planted the bullet shell after impounding Thomas’ rifle as part of their investigation. He received an official pardon from the State after spending nine years in prison.

#8: Kathryn Johnston

In 2006, a botched drug raid led to the unfortunate death of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston in her Atlanta, Georgia home. Police had forced their way into the house on November 21st based on inaccurate information that illegal substances were being sold there. Johnston reportedly shot once at the officers, who returned fire and took her life in the process. After finding no drugs, the officers planted some on the property in an apparent attempt to cover up the incident. They also attempted to coerce an informant to lie about buying narcotics at Johnston’s house. Three policemen involved in the case were brought up on felony murder and burglary. They eventually pleaded guilty to lesser charges and were handed varying prison sentences.

#7: Gerard Puana

Louis and Katherine Kealoha, an influential couple in Honolulu, Hawaii abused their power in framing Katherine’s uncle, Gerard Puana, of a federal crime. Louis, an ex-police chief at the Honolulu PD, and Katherine, a former prosecutor, had been embroiled in a legal dispute with Puana. The case revolved around claims that Katherine had defrauded Puana and her own grandmother of nearly $150,000. In an apparent attempt to discredit her uncle, Katherine and Louis fabricated evidence that he had stolen their mailbox. They brought in two other Honolulu police officers - Derek Hahn and Minh-Hung Nguyen - and manipulated surveillance footage to implicate Puana. Their activities were eventually uncovered and all four conspirators were sentenced to prison for their crimes.

#6: James Saville

Throughout his career, Joe Arpaio, the infamous former sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona was at the center of multiple controversies. He was even convicted of a federal crime, for which he was notoriously pardoned by former President Donald Trump. But perhaps one of his lesser-known scandals involved an alleged murder plot by one James Saville. Back in 1999, Saville was arrested for taking part in a conspiracy to assassinate Arpaio with a bomb. Although Saville spent four years in jail, he was eventually acquitted when the alleged plot was revealed to be a publicity stunt orchestrated by Arpaio himself. Saville filed a lawsuit against Arpaio and Maricopa County and received a settlement of $1.1 million.

#5: The Birmingham Six

On November 21st 1974, two pubs in Birmingham, England were the targets of explosive attacks, which were attributed to the Irish Republican Army. A total of 21 people lost their lives that day and nearly 200 others were injured. In the aftermath, six Irish suspects were arrested and interrogated under inhumane conditions. As a result, four of them were forced to confess to the crime. In addition to their confession, the prosecution also presented evidence during the trial that apparently showed that some of the men had come in contact with explosive devices. This evidence was later shown to be bogus. 16 years after their initial conviction, the Birmingham Six were absolved of the charges and released from prison.

#4: Jamal Trulove

In 2007, Jamal Trulove was an aspiring actor and rapper who had just appeared in an episode of the reality show “I Love New York 2”. That year, he was also implicated in the murder of a man named Seu Kuka on a San Francisco, California street. Trulove was pointed out as the perpetrator by a relative of Kuka, who claimed to have witnessed the murder from a second-floor window. Turns out this testimony was unduly influenced by police officers who not only led Lualemaga to pick Trulove from a lineup, but also suppressed any evidence of his innocence. As a result, Trulove was found guilty of the crime and imprisoned for six years before he was retried and acquitted.

#3: The Victims of Reynaldo Guevara

Reynaldo Guevara is a retired Chicago police detective who is alleged to have framed more than 50 people for crimes they claimed not to have committed. Guevara used multiple tactics in implicating his victims, including coercive interrogations, fabricating evidence and pressuring witnesses to give false testimonies. As a result of the tireless work put in, partly by family members of some of Guevara’s victims, evidence of the former detective’s gross misconduct was revealed. This was met with a public outcry that eventually led to an independent review of his cases by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office. No less than seven people have had their criminal convictions overturned due to this investigation. Guevara, however, maintains no wrongdoing.

#2: The Rampart Scandal

In the late 1990s, a corruption scandal broke among officers of the Rampart Division of the Los Angeles Police Department. The ordeal was uncovered after Rafael Pérez, an officer with the department’s Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums or CRASH unit, was arrested for stealing narcotics from an evidence locker. In exchange for immunity, Pérez gave testimony to prosecutors that implicated dozens of police officers in various acts of corruption and misconduct. This included multiple instances where officers falsified evidence and committed perjury in order to frame innocent people. As a result, more than 100 criminal convictions were overturned, with the city of Los Angeles shelling out about $125 million in civil settlements.

#1: The Victims of Raimundo Atesiano

Biscayne Park, a small village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, once recorded a 100% clearance rate for all burglaries committed. While this seemed like commendable work by the police department, it turned out to be the result of a concerted effort by the police chief, Raimundo Atesiano, to frame innocent people for unsolved crimes. According to reports, Atesiano had specifically directed his officers to falsely arrest and charge random black people with unsolved burglaries. This was done to improve his department’s crime clearance rate. At least three people were arrested and charged, with one of them spending five years in prison. Atesiano was tried on charges of conspiracy to deprive individuals of their civil rights and handed a three-year prison sentence.