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  5. A Mother’s Death, a Botched Inquiry and a Sheriff at War

A Mother’s Death, a Botched Inquiry and a Sheriff at War

On Behalf of Sheppard, White, Kachergus & DeMaggio, P.A. Attorneys & Counselors at Law | Jun 19, 2017 | Cases of Interest, In the News

As is his practice, Mr. Bogdanich has written an extensively researched article about how Agent Rodgers became the object of a campaign to destroy his career and reputation. His offense was the refusal to rubber stamp the conclusions of a deeply flawed investigation into the death of Michelle O’Connel.

Because Sheriff Shoar did not recuse himself from investigating Ms. O’Connel’s death, what actually happened the day she died may never be known. One conclusion, however, is inevitable. When a police officer is involved in any suspicious death, his friends and co-workers should not be put in the position to investigate what happened.

Written and pre-determined protocols should be put in place, and should be followed in every respect, to avoid even the appearance of preferential treatment. In some situations, the entire department should be recused and independent investigators should be appointed at the outset of the investigation.

The failure of Sheriff Shoar to recognize his bias in this investigation means that Ms O’Connel’s family will never obtain the answers to their questions about her death. Instead of answering their questions, the sheriff targeted a well-respected FDLE agent, whose only offense was that he conducted a thorough and unbiased investigation. Justice has been denied, and that should concern all of us.

Read the article here

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