Opinion: Past time to stop police ‘testilying’; culture of deception in U.S. courts must end

IN MARCH 2020, police officers in Louisville, Kentucky, shot and killed 26-year-old Breonna Taylor when they invaded her home to search for an alleged drug dealer. The events that led to the innocent bystander’s death started with deception: Police officers made false statements to a judge to get the warrant. If not for those lies, Breonna Taylor might still be alive.

Police accountability and misconduct have received significant press in recent years, with particular focus on racial bias and excessive force. More people are paying attention, and that’s good. But the appallingly routine habit of police providing false testimony, both in written reports and on the witness stand, still doesn’t get enough attention.