By Julia Asby
PHILADELPHIA- Two Philly police officers last week found themselves on the wrong side of the law.
District Attorney Larry Krasner this week announced perjury and falsification charges against police Officer James Saxton, who allegedly lied under oath during a preliminary hearing in a 2019 narcotics arrest.
And, in an unrelated arrest, Sgt. Michael Kennedy was federally indicted last week for making false statements to the FBI, obstruction and conspiracy to make a false statement.
Kennedy was accused of stealing presumed drug trafficking money during a drug-related search warrant in 2016. The occupants of the apartment recorded the alleged theft shown on Instagram.
Kennedy, who said he put the money in his pocket for safekeeping, also allegedly coached another officer on how to lie to investigators.
In Saxton’s case, a Philadelphia Police Internal Affairs investigation and District Attorney’s Office Special Investigations Unit review revealed that Saxton allegedly lied under oath during a preliminary hearing about observing two Latinx males engaging in an illegal drug transaction on April 28, 2019.
Officer Saxton allegedly arrested one of the two individuals without legal justification and falsified official reports. He is charged with perjury, unsworn falsification, and official oppression, and was suspended.
District Attorney Krasner said that in order for the public to trust and cooperate with law enforcement, “we need police officers to tell the truth just like we need prosecutors to tell the truth.”
DA Krasner stated that this case involved official corruption after witnesses “provided cell phone and surveillance camera footage that disproved Officer Saxton’s initial reports.” Krasner noted it shows why body cameras are important as a direct source of evidence.
Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw stated that “there is absolutely no place for this type of conduct in the Philadelphia police department.”
Julia Asby is a third year student at UC Davis majoring in Political Science with a minor in Sociocultural Anthropology. She is originally from Sacramento.
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