It's common for law enforcement officers to hold a press conference after making an arrest. If, for example, the police and prosecutors hold a press conference to show the public that a serial killer has been arrested, a press conference is valuable. It allows people to breath a little easier.
These days press conferences are held many police officers and prosecutors hungry for the limelight. Sadly, law enforcement often invite members of the media to videotape a "perp walk." This serves no legitimate law enforcement interest and permanently harms the defendant's reputation.
Because I find publicity-hungry police officers sickening, I was pleased to learn that a publicity stunt backfired on the police - a 4.5mm backfire.
A jury on Thursday awarded $4.5 million to a high school girls basketball coach who was arrested by the San Marino Police Department and accused of molesting a girl, although he was never charged with a crime.
Patrick Gillan filed a lawsuit against the department in May 2002, claiming defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress arising from false arrest.
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He was arrested in December 2001 for investigation of sexually assaulting a female student who alleged she was molested several times when she was 17.
Soon after, police held a news conference and showed Gillan's mug shot, which was then broadcast on several TV stations and published in a few newspapers. Gillan was released after being booked, but court documents said that he had only been "detained."
Superior Court Judge Robert O'Brien ruled Thursday that there was no probable cause for the arrest.
***During the civil trial, attorneys for the police department argued that officers were doing their job to investigate the girl's claims and weren't liable for damages.
But Gillan's attorney John Burton said some people still see his client as a threat and the negative publicity has done damage to his reputation. Burton said the accusations were fueled by the girl's family who wanted the girl to become a Division I college basketball star.
The girl, Taylor Bouchard, who is 21 and testified at the trial, ended up at a Division III college and told her coach she had been molested by Gillan while in high school.
"It was an excuse she had made up to get her out of a situation with college basketball and her over-domineering parents," Burton told jurors.
Bouchard, who continues to maintain she was molested, and her mother, were named in the lawsuit but were dropped as part of a settlement agreement.
