Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

IronLionZion

(45,250 posts)
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 11:08 AM Aug 2019

Witnesses said a bank robber didn't have facial tattoos. So police digitally altered

Witnesses said a bank robber didn’t have facial tattoos. So police digitally altered a suspect’s mugshot.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/08/19/portland-bank-robber-facial-tattoos-photoshop-mug-shot/



It would be hard to miss Tyrone Lamont Allen’s facial tattoos.

The 50-year-old’s forehead is covered in delicate script, reaching from his eyebrows to his hairline. A single teardrop appears under his left eye, while his right cheek is unmistakably inked with a looping design.

So when authorities got a tip that Allen was behind a string of bank and credit union robberies in Portland, Ore., in April 2017, there was one major problem: None of the tellers had mentioned seeing any tattoos on the robber’s face. Surveillance footage, too, showed a man with no visible tattoos.

Yet, Allen was charged with the crime — after police took an unusual step. As the Oregonian first reported Friday, investigators used Photoshop to digitally alter his mug shot, covering up his distinctive tattoos. Two of the tellers, who weren’t told that the image had been edited, subsequently picked him out of a photo array of five similar-looking men and identified him as the robber.

Now, a federal judge in Oregon is tasked with determining whether that crucial evidence should be thrown out of court, and whether Allen’s rights were violated. His attorney, Mark Ahlemeyer, argued that the question has weighty implications, given that today’s technology makes it easier than ever to manipulate a photograph.

If covering up a suspect’s prominent facial tattoos is considered fair game, the federal public defender wrote in a recent motion, “there would presumably be nothing wrong with adjusting various pixels to make someone’s face appear slimmer, so long as the government’s theory was that the suspect had gained weight since the crime.”


When laziness is combined with racism, any black person will do. Especially if he can't afford a good lawyer.

Further down the article the police claim to do this all the time and don't have to report it. There should be laws about this sort of thing.
34 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Witnesses said a bank robber didn't have facial tattoos. So police digitally altered (Original Post) IronLionZion Aug 2019 OP
Not the only mug shot digitally altered by Portland police dalton99a Aug 2019 #1
As more and more of these kind of stories come out Proud Liberal Dem Aug 2019 #9
Damn, so the forensic criminalist might have blown up a ton of other cases and convictions or just uponit7771 Aug 2019 #30
Right. Racism and laziness is not a good combination for a police officer. brush Aug 2019 #2
Um...wow. Downtown Hound Aug 2019 #3
how is this any different than planting evidence? Takket Aug 2019 #4
Evidence tampering of any sort is a pretty serious crime... Wounded Bear Aug 2019 #11
"should" is the key word IronLionZion Aug 2019 #24
When did he get the tatoos? Sanity Claws Aug 2019 #5
It is almost beside the point. Voltaire2 Aug 2019 #8
Before the crime. Cops claim he may have disguised it with makeup IronLionZion Aug 2019 #10
The make up cover up was my first thought. littlemissmartypants Aug 2019 #28
If the police claim to do this "all the time" Proud Liberal Dem Aug 2019 #6
it feeds imprisonment for profit Hermit-The-Prog Aug 2019 #25
Which is also, obv a bad thing Proud Liberal Dem Aug 2019 #26
K&R This is worse than a DWB (Driving While Black) violation... real Cannabis calm Aug 2019 #7
K&R... spanone Aug 2019 #12
Wouldn't a mugshot be a public record? How would the intentional alteration avebury Aug 2019 #13
Courts have ruled that police are allowed to lie. Caliman73 Aug 2019 #20
Just thought of this Proud Liberal Dem Aug 2019 #27
I thought they were allowed to lie to suspects not witness's about suspects? uponit7771 Aug 2019 #31
Police are legally allowed to lie at any point except when under oath. Progressive Law Aug 2019 #34
Creating circumstantial evidence bucolic_frolic Aug 2019 #14
Meanwhile, the real robber goes free! N/t TexasBushwhacker Aug 2019 #15
Why is this not a no-brained? Get the lead out Judge. Auggie Aug 2019 #16
Unless the witnesses personally or professionally know the criminal, Ilsa Aug 2019 #17
What's that saying? SCVDem Aug 2019 #18
If they could prove the tatoos were new then I would have no problem with this but if they cannot cstanleytech Aug 2019 #19
The tattoos are before the crime. Police think he disguised it with makeup IronLionZion Aug 2019 #21
Well they need to prove that then otherwise it probably needs to be tossed unless they have cstanleytech Aug 2019 #22
I sat on a jury somewhat similar to this case. displacedtexan Aug 2019 #23
changing appearance to match the testimony of a witness Skittles Aug 2019 #29
If I was a bank robber and had facial tattoos I would cover them with make up Generic Brad Aug 2019 #32
It's in the article IronLionZion Aug 2019 #33

dalton99a

(81,062 posts)
1. Not the only mug shot digitally altered by Portland police
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 11:13 AM
Aug 2019
Ahlemeyer, the defense attorney, claimed the Photoshop job had a different motivation: It made his client look more like the perpetrator. Admitting the results into evidence could be a “slippery slope,” he argued.

“If a witness reports that a perpetrator did not have any front teeth, can the government simply black out a suspect’s teeth on the theory that it could be done with cosmetics?” he wrote. “Or if a suspect’s skin color is too dark or too light as compared to objective video evidence, can the government simply press a few strokes on a computer keyboard and adjust the color to match that objective evidence?”

Those questions largely haven’t been tested in court before, but Allen apparently isn’t the only one whose mug shot was digitally altered by the Portland Police Bureau. According to the Oregonian, Mark Weber, the forensic criminalist who “painted over the tattoos,” testified he had edited other suspects’ photos for lineups before and didn’t write up a report because the police department doesn’t require it.

Proud Liberal Dem

(24,353 posts)
9. As more and more of these kind of stories come out
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 12:04 PM
Aug 2019

I am beginning to understand more and more why people literally hate and fear the police, esp. POC.

uponit7771

(90,225 posts)
30. Damn, so the forensic criminalist might have blown up a ton of other cases and convictions or just
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 08:38 PM
Aug 2019

... let people free.

this is so stupid of them

brush

(53,467 posts)
2. Right. Racism and laziness is not a good combination for a police officer.
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 11:30 AM
Aug 2019

How the hell did they think they could get away with that? Eventually the guy's going to show up in court with tattoos on his face.

What was their plan then?

IronLionZion

(45,250 posts)
24. "should" is the key word
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 02:55 PM
Aug 2019

it's selectively enforced, so they take a chance on the folks who are represented by an overworked public defender instead of the well paid lawyers.

Sanity Claws

(21,822 posts)
5. When did he get the tatoos?
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 11:45 AM
Aug 2019

The crime was two years ago. If he had the tatoos before then, then the Portland police is trying to frame this guy.

Voltaire2

(12,610 posts)
8. It is almost beside the point.
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 12:01 PM
Aug 2019

If doctored evidence is allowed, the police are empowered to “make the evidence fit their theory”. That is ass backwards. Not that the police don’t do this all the time, but generally when exposed the evidence is thrown out.

IronLionZion

(45,250 posts)
10. Before the crime. Cops claim he may have disguised it with makeup
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 12:21 PM
Aug 2019

and it sounds like they don't have enough other evidence and depend on the fact that he looks like the perp but with tattoos.

littlemissmartypants

(22,417 posts)
28. The make up cover up was my first thought.
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 04:16 PM
Aug 2019

It definitely makes it a more complicated situation. Altering the photo is as deceitful as is covering tattoos with make up. One expects more integrity from law enforcement than from a crime suspect. An explanation of the possible inconsistencies in his appearance should be included in the announcement. Or perhaps two photos, one with and one without the tats, with an explanation.

Proud Liberal Dem

(24,353 posts)
6. If the police claim to do this "all the time"
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 12:00 PM
Aug 2019

then we have a pretty big problem on our hands, amirite?!

Fake pictures
Fake DNA
Fake Drugs

How many people exactly are going to prison, losing kids, being MURDERED because of the police?! WTF IS GOING ON?!

real Cannabis calm

(1,124 posts)
7. K&R This is worse than a DWB (Driving While Black) violation...
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 12:00 PM
Aug 2019

If they were new tattoos, these racist cops would have emphasized them.

avebury

(10,946 posts)
13. Wouldn't a mugshot be a public record? How would the intentional alteration
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 12:43 PM
Aug 2019

of a mugshot not constitute the falsification of a public record, and thus be an illegal act?

Caliman73

(11,690 posts)
20. Courts have ruled that police are allowed to lie.
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 02:04 PM
Aug 2019

I suppose this is just the next step in the process?

How are we supposed to have any trust in the police when they are allowed to lie to us during questioning, to plant evidence without repercussions, and now to falsify evidence?

I know that the court has already ruled that police are not under any obligation to protect individual citizens. They are tasked with enforcing the law, but how is falsifying evidence enforcing the law?

Proud Liberal Dem

(24,353 posts)
27. Just thought of this
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 03:15 PM
Aug 2019

but this just paves the way for police to start producing "deepfake" videos too, doesn't this?

 

Progressive Law

(617 posts)
34. Police are legally allowed to lie at any point except when under oath.
Tue Aug 20, 2019, 12:18 AM
Aug 2019

Courts have ruled that lying can be a legitimate police investigation technique.

bucolic_frolic

(42,651 posts)
14. Creating circumstantial evidence
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 01:10 PM
Aug 2019

you can't convict someone because someone thinks they look like someone, especially since it's an adulterated photo.

Now if other more tangible evidence emerges - fingerprint, money bags of cash, footprint - maybe you have the beginnings of a case.

Did any witnesses think the robber looked like he was wearing makeup? I don't think there are too many guys good with covering up their own tattoos.

Ilsa

(61,675 posts)
17. Unless the witnesses personally or professionally know the criminal,
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 01:51 PM
Aug 2019

witness identification is very unreliable. They just don't remember those details of a face, especially under traumatic circumstances.

cstanleytech

(26,080 posts)
19. If they could prove the tatoos were new then I would have no problem with this but if they cannot
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 02:03 PM
Aug 2019

then he needs to be freed and I hope he sues the hell out of the police department in civil court.

cstanleytech

(26,080 posts)
22. Well they need to prove that then otherwise it probably needs to be tossed unless they have
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 02:23 PM
Aug 2019

something else to back up their claims like a fingerprint at the scene or some dna that he left there.

displacedtexan

(15,694 posts)
23. I sat on a jury somewhat similar to this case.
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 02:34 PM
Aug 2019

A father & son in DC were robbed by a black man wearing a red sweatshirt & black pants. I thought it curious that the father was not called as a witness, but the son was. During deliberations, we saw that the mugshot array (9 photos on a page used for the victims to ID a suspect ) all looked small & they were wearing white T-shirt’s, but the photo of the man on trial was larger (like it was enlarged & cropped), & he was wearing a red Redskins sweatshirt.

We did not convict him, and when the prosecutor & defense attorney interviewed us after the judge dismissed us, we learned that the father didn't testify because he couldn't identify a suspect, and the police had given the suspect the red sweatshirt to wear for the photo.

There's so much of this crap going on that it's absolutely overwhelming.

Generic Brad

(14,270 posts)
32. If I was a bank robber and had facial tattoos I would cover them with make up
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 09:38 PM
Aug 2019

Or am I the only one who thinks like that? Lucky for you all I'm not a bank robber.

IronLionZion

(45,250 posts)
33. It's in the article
Mon Aug 19, 2019, 10:26 PM
Aug 2019
In response, prosecutors argued the robber’s “immutable facial features” looked enough like Allen’s to justify adding him to the photo array, noting that he could have put on makeup before committing the robberies.


Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Witnesses said a bank rob...