Former Hollywood Cop On Trial For Alleged Cover Up
FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Jury selection got underway Monday for a former Hollywood police officer accused of 'fixing' a report to cover for a fellow officer who was involved in an accident.
Forty five year old Dewey Pressley is charged with four counts of official misconduct, four counts of falsifying records and one count each of conspiracy to commit official misconduct and conspiracy to falsify records, according to the Sun-Sentinel. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 30 years in prison.
The accident happened February 2009 when officer Joel Francisco rear ended a car driven by then 23-year old Alexandra Torrens-Villa on Sheridan Street.
Torrens-Villa was arrested and charged with four counts of drunk driving. While seated in the back of a patrol car, she reportedly heard Francisco and Pressley discuss shifting the blame to her.
"We'll do a little Walt Disney protect the cop because it wouldn't have mattered because she is drunk anyway," Pressley could be heard saying on the car's dash cam.
In his report, Pressley wrote that a large cat which had been sitting in Torrens-Villas lap jumped out of the window. He wrote that the motion distracted her and she veered into Francisco's lane and braked, causing the Francisco to run into her.
When Torrens-Villas' lawyer got the dash cam recordings released in July, all charges against her were dropped.
The following January, Pressley and Francisco were fired from the force. Three others involved in the cover up, including a crime scene technician and a sergeant, were also fired.
