Attorneys from The Legal Aid Society penned an op-ed in today’s Daily News addressing the systemic failure of a police culture where lying and abuse are normalized modes of acceptable conduct. Rigodis Appling and Jason Wu write that the Police Department’s habitual manipulation of truth and facts lead not only to individual wrongful convictions, but to irrational, self-defeating decisions, such as the rollback of New York state bail reform this year.

Appling and Wu have taken part in the launch of “Cops Lie: We Witness” – a new social media campaign meant to educate citizens about the culture of lying that permeates police departments around the country.

“As public defenders,” the authors state, “we are witnesses to the lies told by cops to justify their racist policing, prosecutions and violence. Public defenders see the constant and consistent lies that are a fundamental part of everyday police work. These stories give context and visceral meaning to the national demand to defund the police.”