Buzayan Case Charges that Davis Police Officer Ly Ignored Request for Attorney
Last spring Davis Enterprise Editor Debbie Davis upon hearing the tapes from the Buzayan case--the ones that the prosecutor wanted her to hear--proclaimed:
The issue of Officer Pheng Ly's demeanor during the incident got some how overblown in the press. The issue was never that Officer Ly was rude or abrasive, rather that he violated the rights of young Buzayan.
As the complaint filed by the Buzayan family states:
This is a violation of Miss Buzayan's Miranda Rights. This was taken by some to mean that Officer Ly failed to read Miss Buzayan her Miranda rights. But the rights embodied under Miranda not only include the requirement that the officer inform the individual of their rights, but also that at the moment that she requests an attorney, any interview immediately cease. Particularly, in the case of a minor, it is incumbent upon the police officer to ensure that her rights are not violated.
Listening to the recorded transcript between Officer Pheng Ly and Halema Buzayan one hears:
According to legal experts who I have spoken with, the moment that Miss Buzayan said, "Ok, could? Can you do that?" Officer Ly was required to cease his interrogation. For some reason however, the issue of Miranda became focused on the question of did Officer Ly read Miss Buzayan her Miranda Rights.
For example, on May 2, 2006, Bob Dunning in his column writes:
The record here on the transcript is pretty clear if you are familiar with the law. The error for the community was when non-lawyers such as Debbie Davis clouded the public issues by false assertions that Officer Pheng Ly was “doing his job and doing it well.”
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
Last spring Davis Enterprise Editor Debbie Davis upon hearing the tapes from the Buzayan case--the ones that the prosecutor wanted her to hear--proclaimed:
"LISTEN FOR YOURSELF... You'll hear a Davis police officer discharging his duty to this community in a decidedly professional manner. He's doing his job, and he's doing it well. In every contact with the hit-and-run victim, the witness and every member of the Buzayan family, he is polite, respectful and professional."This pronouncement by Debbie Davis has always troubled me, because to the best of my knowledge Ms. Davis is neither an attorney nor does she have any sort of legal training.
The issue of Officer Pheng Ly's demeanor during the incident got some how overblown in the press. The issue was never that Officer Ly was rude or abrasive, rather that he violated the rights of young Buzayan.
As the complaint filed by the Buzayan family states:
"The Yolo County District Attorney's Office and Ly mischaracterized the complaints made by the Buzayan family as arising out of Ly's demeanor during his interactions with them - as opposed to his multiple violations of federal, state and local laws - and then refuted "strawman” arguments never made by the Buzayan family"The complaint filed by the Buzayans however claims a much more serious violation of the law--"Defendant Ly also deliberately and unlawfully denied her request for an attorney in direct violation of both federal and state law."
This is a violation of Miss Buzayan's Miranda Rights. This was taken by some to mean that Officer Ly failed to read Miss Buzayan her Miranda rights. But the rights embodied under Miranda not only include the requirement that the officer inform the individual of their rights, but also that at the moment that she requests an attorney, any interview immediately cease. Particularly, in the case of a minor, it is incumbent upon the police officer to ensure that her rights are not violated.
Listening to the recorded transcript between Officer Pheng Ly and Halema Buzayan one hears:
Officer Ly: ugh before I…emmm… ask you questions about the case, I wanna read you something very important.. emm OK?As the complaint explains: "As Ly well understood, Halema's statement, "ok, could you? Can you do that" constituted a request for an attorney under federal and state law, requiring him to cease his already unlawful interrogation of Halema. But Officer Ly, in direct violation of state and federal law, denied a minor's request for an attorney. Officer Ly, Davis Police Chief Jim Hyde and the Yolo County District Attorney would later falsely claim that Halema Buzayan did not request an attorney, or that her request was "ambiguous.""
Halema Buzayan: Umhem
Ly: You have the right to remain silent. Do you understand?
HB: Yeah… to be quiet?
Ly: Yes
HB: And not answer your question OK?
Ly: Any thing you say may be used against you in court. Do you understand?
HB: Not really.. no.
Ly: Ok. Anything you say may be used against you in court. OK. Basically, if you tell you me anything I can go to court and say this is what she told me. OK.
HB: Umm OK?
Ly: You have the right to the presence of an attorney before and during any questioning. Do you understand?
HB: So, like right now or no?
Ly: Yeah right now if you want one you can.
HB: Will it be my attorney? Or…
Ly: It could be……….any attorney that you want.
HB: OK… uhhh… my parents… like my dad has an attorney. Could I use that one?
Ly: He has a…. he has a…he’s…he’s… he’s…an attorney…? He has a law partner..?
HB: No no no no he has…. No no he has an attorney like for UC Davis employees they have them.
Ly: Ugh umm yeah.
HB: OK
Ly: Yeah, if he is available
HB: OK, could you? Can you do that?
Ly: if you can not afford one, then one will be appointed for you free of charge before any questioning if you want. Do you understand that.
According to legal experts who I have spoken with, the moment that Miss Buzayan said, "Ok, could? Can you do that?" Officer Ly was required to cease his interrogation. For some reason however, the issue of Miranda became focused on the question of did Officer Ly read Miss Buzayan her Miranda Rights.
For example, on May 2, 2006, Bob Dunning in his column writes:
“As the alleged "facts" of this arrest have seeped into the public consciousness over the last few months, I was told time and time again that Pheng Ly never advised Halema Buzayan of her Miranda rights, a serious violation in any arrest. And yet, as I listened to the tapes, there was Officer Ly ¬ clearly and directly and deliberately ¬ advising Halema of her Miranda rights and making certain she understood.”Dunning’s column illustrates the misconception about this issue that was repeated in the Davis Enterprise newspaper last spring which created that perception that Officer Ly had been unjustly accused of wrong doing and that the community owed him an apology. Officer Ly on his website (which in the last week seems to have been taken down) similarly would claim that the issue was the reading of the Miranda rights rather than the denial of attorney upon request.
The record here on the transcript is pretty clear if you are familiar with the law. The error for the community was when non-lawyers such as Debbie Davis clouded the public issues by false assertions that Officer Pheng Ly was “doing his job and doing it well.”
---Doug Paul Davis reporting
