Four years ago, Grant Long, a resident of Forrest City, Arkansas, was acquitted of three criminal charges: harassment, harassing communications, and theft by receiving. In a federal lawsuit against former Forrest City police officer Darren Smith, Long argues that he was prosecuted in retaliation for his constitutionally protected criticism of Smith, who repeatedly lied in the affidavit that led to the charges.
This week a federal judge allowed Long to proceed with that claim and two others against Smith. It is not hard to see why, given the flagrantly fraudulent basis for the charges against Long, who had sued Smith in federal court and criticized him on Facebook. The case vividly illustrates how easy it is for a cop with a personal beef against someone to punish him with baseless criminal charges when prosecutors and judges fail to do their jobs by independently evaluating the allegations.
