Carl Beckman…What happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Maybe former Police Officer Carl Beckman stole over $20,000 from the property room of the Sylvania Police Department but maybe he didn’t. Being indicted by a Grand Jury doesn’t prove you are guilty and if you remember that old line, “Any prosecutor who wanted to could indict a ham sandwich,” the level of “proof” needed for a grand jury isn’t that high of a standard. It doesn’t sound as if Beckman confessed.
Normally even when it could be true, there is that whole “alleged” or “accused” is thrown in there, but it’s being stated from both the Chief of Police and the Mayor of Sylvania Craig Stough as if Beckman’s guilt has already been confirmed:
“It’s very sad and disappointing when a trusted officer of 36 years is discovered to be stealing,” he (Stough) said.
There’s just something about this whole story that doesn’t seem right, it sounds as everyone is rushing to a judgment when what if he was set up? Was he in the property room 24/7 with no other human being having access to it? If he did do it, it was a pretty stupid thing to do considering that the money ends up having to be deposited. Not that people don’t do stupid things…The time frame doesn’t make sense if it was just noticed with recent money that was supposed to be deposited, then why does it state it goes back to 1996? How could money be missing for that long and there be no oversight?
What would make the police officer that carried the badge number of #1 as the most senior officer, who had been respected within the community and won awards not only steal money, but steal money in a manner that he’d get caught? That’s what I’m left wondering about…that and our ability to play judge and jury without the benefit of the legal system…
I think Mayor Stough should have said “alleged”. Way to go Mr. Mayor, if he is not guilty watch for the lawsuit and guilty – appeal.
February 7th, 2009 at 6:56 pmOr accused or suspected, or any number of other words…
February 7th, 2009 at 6:59 pmAgreed. Highly inflammatory comments from two men who ought to know better. The mayor and the police chief just handed Beckman’s lawyers a gift-wrapped appeal.
February 7th, 2009 at 8:31 pmInterestingly enough, in my experience, police rarely — if ever — use those words when telling us about what a suspect may or may not have done.
February 7th, 2009 at 8:56 pmI thought it was interesting too Barrett, that’s why I blogged about it, you see it at times on a blog or by people asked their opinion, but since it doesn’t appear he confessed it seemed strange and left me with questions.
Which you’ve seen what happens when I start questioning things – lol.
February 7th, 2009 at 9:03 pmI guess I was just trying to stress the uniformity of it in the police aspect — if we do it, it’s libel and slander (on-air and in our written script). It could be argued that if police are going to charge you, they have to sound confident they have enough evidence to prove it.
What’s surprised some of the police officers (*not* SPD) I’ve talked to about this is that they’re so openly talking about another officer like this — not in a double-standard sort of way, but in more of a PR respect…
February 7th, 2009 at 9:57 pmI have a prosecutor friend who says, “It’s not that we don’t want to prosecute the innocent, it’s just that we don’t have the time or the manpower.”
And, Beckman looks like a kat-kicker!
Carry on…
February 8th, 2009 at 8:13 amRogue, look how many times someone who is charged ends up having the charges totally dropped by the prosecutor for a variety of reasons. Look how many people when indicted by a grand jury are actually convicted of those charges…It doesn’t happen often in either misdemeanor or felony cases, most cases don’t even to go trial. Beckman could be an alleged kat-kicker…he could not be.
February 8th, 2009 at 10:24 amJust to clear up a few questions…I believe Mr. Beckman was the only individual with access to the property room, it is a part of the courtroom officer job.
February 8th, 2009 at 11:59 amWith regard to the money, I imagine 1996-2009 were the years he had the position with exclusive access to the room, not that he was stealing the entire time. When money comes in from a new crime, he could use that money to satisfy the previous crimes, and so on. He could continue this rollover type set up for quite a long time.
Additionally, he is an unkind, self-righteous individual. I am glad they caught him.
I’m curious about something that hopefully someone can answer for me. Is Mr. Beckman the officer that was the bailiff in the court room at Sylvania Muni Court? If not, WOW, he could pass for that officers twin!
And yes, sadly, even though it’s “supposed” to be innocent until proven guilty, it’s usually the other way around.
February 8th, 2009 at 4:38 pmTina, thanks, I thought he had that position since the 80’s and it seems odd that he’d be the only one with access, sick days, vacations, etc. come to mind. It’s never a good thing procedurally to have one person with total control/access with nothing as far as oversight.
Holly, it probably is him since that would also be part of the duties of his being the courtroom officer.
February 8th, 2009 at 4:44 pmWow! So quick to judge without any facts. Kat Kicker? So what you are saying is that you ASS-u-me that he is a so called Kat Killer just by seeing a picture of him? I hope your not on the jury!
And Tina sounds like you really got it in for him. Makes me wonder what people think of you?
I think we need to wait until we hear the FACTS before we start assuming and speculating.
February 9th, 2009 at 7:11 pmYes, he is the officer you saw in Sylvania’s courtroom.
If you knew him personally, you would know he is not unkind or self-righteous, but that is the way some cops seem to be while on duty.
The Toledo Blade says he has held that position since 1988. 1996-2009 leaves a lot of time for sick days, vacations, etc., especially when you’ve been on the job since 1973 and have accrued a lot of vacation time.
I’m not passing judgment either way, but anything that comes up missing in SPD’s inventory is going to be blamed on him, even though it might not have been taken by him. Just a thought.
Also, it’s nice to see that not EVERYONE has found him guilty in the court of public opinion.
February 10th, 2009 at 7:56 pmI know Officer Beckman personally. He was the courtroom officer.
Also, Officer Beckman CONFESSED to taking the money. Just FYI.
February 11th, 2009 at 5:42 pmCarson, if he confessed to taking the money then what’s happening doesn’t make logical sense and you’d think the media would have been all over that as a fact.
February 11th, 2009 at 6:01 pmThe media DID say that he had confessed. That’s why he took an early retirement as soon as he confessed. He’s still entitled to due process, and he still has to be sentenced.
Speaking of the media, an early edition of The Blade said he hired an attorney and had his arraignment moved up to today (from the 19th). Probably so he could avoid the media.
February 11th, 2009 at 6:18 pmIn addition, Chief Sobb indicated that Officer Beckman had no apparent NEED for the money, as opposed to just WANTING the money. That was reported in an interview with the Chief on Channel 11. I’m not wording that well, but that was the gist of the comment.
February 11th, 2009 at 6:23 pmIt does not state anywhere in the article that is linked here that he confessed, as an example:
If he confessed, it would not be “alleged thefts” and knowing the reporter from the Blade, she would not miss including that information if it would have been told to her.
In searching the WTOL website, I see where it is stated he confessed but there’s nothing there that indicates who said he confessed, and the video of the Chief, he uses the word “alledged” there is no mention of a confession. It wouldn’t be the first time a media station reported something incorrectly.
Is not not factual since they don’t tell you “what people” said anything. WTOL is the same station that reported a minister showed children pornography in church and that was about as far from the truth as you could get. I can’t find any additional verification out there where other media is reporting the confession. If you’ve seen it? Link it and perhaps they’ll have more than what WTOL had.
February 11th, 2009 at 6:53 pmLisaRenee: As I said earlier, I KNOW HIM AND HIS WIFE PERSONALLY. I’ll just leave it at that. When this is all said and done, you’ll see that he did what he is accused of doing. I’ll move on now. Peace out.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:07 pmIt does show on the docket that his court date was today. He pleaded Not Guilty. Pretrial/Motion hearing is on March 5th and trial on March 9th.
I was also wondering why WTOL said that he “reportedly confessed” while the article in the Blade did not mention that at all.
Here’s a link to today’s article in the Blade: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090211/NEWS02/902110230
Still no mention of any alleged confession.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:13 pmWhether or not he is guilty, I still think that he will be accused of taking anything that has EVER been missing from that property room in the past 13 years. Is there never an audit on the property room??? How do they know that $ was missing in 1996??? Just wondering.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:21 pmCarson, you may know him and his wife, then again think about it for a second, this is the internet, you are using a blog where you are only posting under a name. It’s a simple matter of what is the media reporting versus what is known that can be confirmed.
As stated before all of this, maybe he did it, maybe he didn’t but he is supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, even by people who know him.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:22 pmAgain – the media reported that when Chief Sobb confronted him, he confessed. Just because it wasn’t reported by ALL media doesn’t mean he didn’t confess. It just means that not all of the media reported it.
If someone confesses, I don’t believe they have to be “found guilty”.
Also, just FYI, EVERYONE pleads not guilty at their arraignment. It’s standard procedure.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:51 pmCarson, the media didn’t say who said it, so there is no real evidence he confessed beyond nameless people who let’s say for the sake of argument someone did say that to WTOL, it could have been someone who had an ax to grind, it does appear some don’t like Beckman. If WTOL was the only station with proof that he confessed? The others would jump on it and try to verify it too, that’s the way media works. Even one scoop equals the others trying to provide the same plus more. Or if you are correct and he did confess, then WTOL is the only one who reported it. I don’t think that makes my position of believing he’s innocent until proven guilty a wrong one to take.
Let me share something with you, years ago when I first came on the internet I thought I had befriended someone on a message board who was a boy with medical/health issues. One day his brother came on the message board and told us all he died, and then I discovered, it was all made up. I learned that day that if the person does not state exactly who they are or provide me with some type of real evidence, I always take what is stated with a grain of salt. It’s not meant to offend you in any way shape or form, but, if the situation was reversed, I would not expect you to believe me just on my word alone. Some might believe me on my word alone because they’ve come to know me, but I don’t know you yet Carson. I hope that at least helps you see where I’m coming from.
I try to keep an open mind until I can confirm it…
February 11th, 2009 at 8:31 pmCarson, FYI, I was simply stating the facts on the docket and trying to share the info on this blog.
What media source reported “when Chief Sobb confronted him, he confessed”? WTOL reported “People within the department noticed something was wrong, and Beckman reportedly confessed”. Do you know of a source that said that Beckman confessed when Chief Sobb confronted him? Please let me know because I’m trying to collect all the info available.
I agree with LisaRenee – Carson is saying that he personally knows Beckman and that “he did what he is accused of doing”. But no one on this blog knows Carson so it is hard to take Carson’s word for it. Until I see some discovery or court transcripts, I’m also keeping an open mind.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:00 pmThe WTOL report doesn’t mesh with the Blade article when it comes to how he was allegedly caught either, which is an additional concern for me as far as accuracy.
The Blade states:
WTOL reported:
It would stand to reason if he confessed, the next line from the Chief would be, “that’s when I confronted him and he confessed.”
All of that said, he could have confessed, it’s possible WTOL was the only station that reported that part of the story. My main concern was given what was shared in the Blade, that there not be the all too often rush to judgment that we see happen. Sometimes? There’s more to the story. I remember when Tammy Cappelletty was murdered and the media reported that the Police suggested she was somehow involved in drugs, that was proven to not be true and it took months to clear her name. Her children went through hell, they not only lost their mother but had people believe that their mother was connected to a drug sale.
February 11th, 2009 at 9:09 pmI KNOWN OFFICER BECKMAN PERSONALLY FOR 30 YEARS. I FIND HIM TO BE A VERY RESPECTFUL AND KIND MAN. I ALSO KNOW THAT OFFICER BECKMAN HAS TAKEN EXTENDED MEDICAL LEAVE AND VACATIONS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. OFFICER BECKMAN IS NOT THE ONLY PARTY WITH EXCESS TO THE PROPERTY ROOM. I FIND IT HARD TO BELIEVE THAT HE HAS DONE WHAT THEY ARE ACCUSING HIM OF. I WILL ADMIT THAT THE PROPERTY ROOM IS OR WAS HIS RESPONSIBILITY AND HE MAY BE GUILTY OF TRUSTING THE WRONG PEOPLE OR OF NOT KEEPING BETTER INVENTORY OF IT.
March 4th, 2009 at 5:27 pm