The WSJ had an interesting story this morning about the risk of police informants. It highlighted the case of a man who filed a lawsuit against the San Francisco Police Department because it allegedly did not protect him or his family.
The man, named “John Roe” in the lawsuit, was arrested in 2008 and charged with conspiracy to commit murder. The lawsuit claims that he regularly reported with the SFPD, the FBI and ICE, informing them about the inner workings of MS13.
Here is your Mission angle: “In the case involving the current lawsuit, the man claiming to be an informant was arrested in 2008 along with about two dozen other alleged MS-13 members on charges including conspiracy to commit murder. One of the meetings allegedly occurred in 2005 at the Mission Playground, on Valencia Street in San Francisco, where gang members are accused of discussing plans to attack rivals, take control of drug distribution in the neighborhood and killing a rival. Even after the arrest, the complaint says, the man believed ‘he was still working undercover for the FBI in some capacity, and that his arrest was just a cover,’ and he continued providing information to agents and federal prosecutors.”
