Cleared by Fingerprint
A Florida youth minister and father of four, Tallie Gainer, ended up as the defendant in a felony bad check case. He was arrested in front of his family, exhausted his savings, and lost out on a business opportunity. On the surface, the story doesn't sound that remarkable. However, there is more to it, and the rest of the story points out several problems with the criminal justice system.
The ordeal started when Gainer left his wallet at a restaurant. Someone using his ID subsequently went into a bank, and tried to cash a check. The transaction didn't go through, but the attempt was the basis of the criminal charge. Gainer was subsequently arrested after he was identified through photographs, and the teller identified him. What followed was unfortunately not uncommon for a criminal case. Gainer's lawyer tried to explain his wallet was taken, but of course, who is going to listen to a criminal? Fortunately for Gainer, the teller took a fingerprint because she suspected something was not right. Unfortunately for Gainer, the fingerprint did not get examined for 8 months. When it came back as not Gainer's, the charges were dismissed. That was not before his life was turned upside down, and he was financially bankrupted.
So what went wrong. Clearly, there was something less than a thorough investigation. As with many cases, the police got an eyewitness ID, and closed the case. Despite all the research pointing out the fallibility of such identifications, police still accept them without question. If they had tried to verify the ID, Gainer would have been spared the embarrassment and costs of being charged in a criminal case.
Gainer is suing the police department, but that probably is not going to be successful. Police have immunity from such suits, unless they act intentionally. They can make serious mistakes - like here - and there is nothing anyone can do about. Hopefully, he at least got an apology......
