
Missing tattoos: Altered photo lineup by Portland police draws objection - lando2319
https://www.oregonlive.com/crime/2019/08/the-case-of-the-missing-tattoos-altered-photo-lineup-by-portland-police-draws-objection.html
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denton-scratch
"Some" (i.e. more than one?) of the tellers picked out Allen - a man with
prominent facial tattoos. I.e. they must have been mistaken.

I've had to do an identity parade; I failed to correctly identify the perp.
I'd eyeballed the guy for only a few seconds, and the line-up was three months
later. I picked someone out, but it was the wrong guy. The perp and everyone
in the line-up were all black guys; I'm white, and not very good at telling
black guys apart.

Line-ups are on the whole poor quality evidence.

[edit] The cops also screwed up; I learned later that me and the suspect had
been in the same room in the cop-shop, prior to the line-up.

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lumberingjack
I've had two pick out an accused while he was in the back of a cruiser filled
with three guys and I failed 15 minutes after I saw the guy commit the crime.
I hate to say it but even living in a community with them they all look the
same to me.

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mieseratte
Photoshopped out tattoos to show a photo-lineup representative of having
covered it up with makeup seems to be the real argument made in TFA. In this
light seems a bit more innocuous.

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bdcravens
Then why not portray him as being white, in case his makeup skills are that
good?

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jakelazaroff
Because the robber didn't appear white?

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bdcravens
He also didn't appear to be tattoo-free, but we need to plan for any
situation.

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jakelazaroff
He _did_ appear to be tattoo-free. That's the point.

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sowbug
Of interest: 1994 Time Magazine cover with altered mugshot of O.J. Simpson:
[https://people.southwestern.edu/~bednarb/su_netWorks/project...](https://people.southwestern.edu/~bednarb/su_netWorks/projects/enyioha/O.J.Simpson.html)

Note that the linked article incorrectly says he was "found innocent." In fact
the jury found the prosecution failed to meet the burden of proof that was he
guilty "beyond a reasonable doubt."

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whiddershins
That’s what “found innocent” means. There’s no other definition in our legal
system.

~~~
freehunter
Exactly. The default setting is "innocent until proven guilty", so if someone
fails to be found guilty, they are inherently innocent in the eyes of the law.

~~~
mrob
The full phrase is " _presumed_ innocent until proven guilty". It's specifying
how people should be treated by the legal system, not stating whether they are
_in fact_ innocent or not.

~~~
freehunter
>It's specifying how people should be treated by the legal system, not stating
whether they are in fact innocent or not.

How is that different from

> if someone fails to be found guilty, they are inherently innocent in the
> eyes of the law

?

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mdda
I semi-remember hearing that ear-prints are also somewhat unique (like, say,
thumb-prints). Since the CCTV seems to have a decent ear image, couldn't the
defense demonstrate that their client's ear is distinctly different in shape?

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dieFledermaus
> _...and the decision to cover up Allen’s tattoos was done in this case to
> “prevent misidentifying the suspect.”_

How are you going to "misidentify" a suspect with facial tattoos against an
array without them? Not only that, until the tip, facial tattoos didn't even
enter the equation. The prominent one on his right cheek should've been a dead
give-away, even in the released surveillance photo.

This seems like a " _We got him, boys, let 's make sure he doesn't get away!_"
type of situation.

