It is a great possibility that Meek Mill could become a free man sooner than later. On Monday (Feb. 13) the Philadelphia Inquirer reported a story that the District Attorney’s Office of Philadelphia actually compiled a list of officers who could possibly be corrupt. The officers, as reported by the writers of the story, had a “history of lying, racial bias, or brutality, in a move to block them from testifying in court.”
Reginald Graham is an officer whose name is on the list but is associated with Meek. In 2007, he was the arresting officer for Meek who had violated his probation on a drug/gun charge. The list isn’t available to the public as of yet, but its intent was to be a guide for the District Attorney to see who possibly could be a tainted officer.
The list was intended only for internal use, as a guide to determine when a potentially tainted officer’s testimony should be used. Under the office’s policy, front-line prosecutors were instructed to get top-level permission before calling such an officer. Prosecutors, according to sources, did not want to release the list out of concern for the officers’ privacy rights and the broad impact it might have on past convictions involving the officers.
To make matters worst, Meek’s lawyers were not initially aware that Graham was on the list. This could serve as a key break in Meek’s case.
Appellate lawyers for Mill were never told of the list or that Graham was on it, prosecutors acknowledged. The existence of the list also was kept from attorneys for hundreds of past defendants arrested by the officers the District Attorney’s Office had identified as tainted.
Former narcotics officer Jeffrey Walker stated that he would actually steal with Graham while they were both on the force.
“I would steal with Reggie Graham,” said former narcotics officer Jeffrey Walker, who was convicted of police corruption and spent two years in prison. “There was stealing in that whole squad, but these are the people I was basically breaking bread with.”
Meek Mill is currently in jail serving a sentence for two-to-four years.
