INNOCENT: Grandparent speaks up for DPD

"... these three individuals [David Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann,] are innocent of these charges."

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper, Apr. 11, 2007
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The Durham Herald Sun recently published a letter by Durham Police Corporal David Addison in which Addison expressed his upset about what’s happened since the public got an idea of what went on in Durham during the Duke Hoax.

It’s now certain that members of “the Nifong/DPD Duke lacrosse investigative team” repeatedly and deliberately made false statements to the public, created bogus “evidence,” suppressed exculpatory evidence, and arrested and charged with multiple felonies three young men Nifong and some DPD officers knew were innocent.

Now, none of that bothers Leftists or many “victims’ advocates,” “Durham progressives,” Duke faculty Group of 88 types, and ACLU and NAACP members.

But it sure does bother decent Durham citizens who cherish justice and constitutional rights.

And those citizens have gotten things so “stirred up” here in Durham that the Mayor and City Council have gone and commissioned a panel to investigate what the DPD officers on the “Nifong/DPD investigative team” and their supervisors did as their part of – let’s call it what it was – an attempted frame-up.

Addison doesn’t like the idea of an investigative panel one bit. And who can blame him?

If you’d been DPD spokesperson late last March and you’d given false information to the media and public, and sent out the text of a false Durham CrimeStoppers Wanted poster, would you want a panel asking questions about what you did?

Wouldn’t you all be especially upset when you learned the panel was headed by a very respected former law school dean and former NC Supreme Court Justice?

So we can all understand why Addison would want to write a letter and tell people he was upset about what the panel might do to DPD, can’t we?

None of us would expect Addison to admit he's really concerned about himself: that he doesn’t want to answer questions the panel will certainly ask him.

Questions such as: “Corporal Addison, how did you determine a “brutal rape” had been committed; and did any of your superiors ever tell you to correct that false statement?”

And what about this question: "Whose idea was it, Corporal Addison, to put all that false information in the text of the CrimeStoppers' Wanted poster?"

You can read Addison’s letter here and more about him and the fallout from his letter here, here and here. Those latter two posts contain four excellent letters the H-S published in response to Addison’s.

I received offline the letter below which I’m guessing the H-S didn’t print because it had already published the other four letters. I’m publishing it here with the writer’s consent. It’s from a member of the Duke lacrosse family whose grandson was a member of the 2006 team.

I think it's remarkeable letter. I'll be interested to read what you think.
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To the editor:

Durham Police Corporal David Addison’s outrageous accusation that Durham city leaders are making slanderous and vicious attacks on the Durham Police Department is nothing more than Addison’s attempt to hide behind DPD so people won’t question what he did last spring.

As DPD spokesman on the Duke Lacrosse case, Cpl. Addison’s statements were printed and broadcast by hundreds of news organizations between March 24-28, 2006.

With absolute certainty Addison claimed one victim was “brutally raped.” He said all members of the lacrosse team had refused to cooperate with DPD. He told Durham citizens and the world there was really, really strong physical evidence of the crime.

All of that was false!

On March 28, 2006, as CrimeStoppers liaison, Addison widely distributed by email to DPD substations and to the media the unqualified and false claims that the victim was sodomized, raped, assaulted and robbed at a party hosted by the Duke Lacrosse Team.

Later, the Special Prosecutors in the NC Attorney General’s office found the claims of a “brutal rape” made by the now disgraced Mike Nifong and DPD spokesperson Addison were completely false.

Addison's statements and actions leave some DPD members suspect and the many decent DPD law enforcement officers unfairly tainted by association.

College students in Durham, their families, and everyone else in Durham are entitled to know they will not be framed by a small gang in the DPD.

Durham citizens are entitled to know that officers who go outside the law will be identified and punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Honest law officers have nothing to fear from a truthful investigation. Rogue cops do!

The City Council’s approach is essential to restoring trust in the Durham Police Department.


G. Holman King
Granbury, Texas

The writer is a proud Duke Lacrosse grandparent.