D.A. shouldn't give up

WE'RE HAPPY TO stipulate that District Attorney Terence Hallinan had less than an open-and-shut case against five senior police officers accused of conspiring to cover up the Fajitagate scandal. Conspiracy cases are always tough, and this one was largely based on circumstantial evidence.

Still, Judge Kay Tsenin was wrong to dismiss the charges against the top cops. The prosecution didn't have to prove the conspiracy beyond a reasonable doubt at this point; Hallinan just had to show that there was sufficient evidence to take the case to trial. And even Tsenin acknowledged from the bench that the way the cops handled things that November night was troubling, at best.

More important, the public had a right to see this case go to a jury. From the start of the scandal, secrecy and cover-up have been the watchwords. Almost everyone involved, including Tsenin, has been looking out for the rights of the accused police officers. Key evidence, including the urine tests that would show if the three rookie cops who allegedly assaulted two men over a bag of fajitas were drunk at the time, remains under court seal. But the people of San Francisco have a right to know what went on that night – and a public trial is the best and perhaps the only way for the truth to see the light of day.

Instead, thanks to Tsenin, the cover-up continues: the five cops are allowed to go right back to work, to management positions in the San Francisco Police Department. The message: powerful cops can squelch an investigation and protect well-connected young officers who beat up civilians, and get away with it. The impact on future police discipline – and on the morale of the honest officers in the department who are sickened by this sort of conduct – is horrible.

That's why Hallinan can't give up. He needs to file new charges and keep this case alive.

Hallinan doesn't need to charge the five with felonies – or even with conspiracy. State law forbids anyone, including law-enforcement officers, from interfering with a police investigation. A misdemeanor case under California Penal Code, section 148, would probably survive even Tsenin's standards of scrutiny, would keep the case in the public eye, and would make clear that Hallinan isn't just going to let the top police brass get away with a cover-up. He should file those charges – or similar charges – immediately.