Aaron Brockler, an assistant prosecutor in Cuyahoga County, Ohio (Cleveland) was in a bind. Two witnesses for suspected murderer Damon Dunn were planning to testify that he wasn't at the scene of a brutal murder last May. So he decided to pose as Dunn's ex-girlfriend on Facebook in hopes of getting them to change their testimony. Unfortunately for Brockler, his ruse was uncovered, and now he's out of a job.
"Law enforcement, including prosecutors, have long engaged in the practice of using a ruse to obtain the truth," said Brockler, 35, a county prosecutor since 2006. "I think the public is better off for what I did."The two women were prepared to testify that Dunn was at a beach in Edgewater Park in west Cleveland, and not at the East Side car wash where Kenneth "Blue" Adams was murdered. However, when Dunn's "girlfriend" told them that she'd given him a baby, they hit the ceiling. The next day, they both went to Brockler and told him they weren't going to lie for him. Brockler printed copies of the transcripts and put them in the case file.County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said he fired Brockler for good cause.
"This office does not condone and will not tolerate such unethical behavior," McGinty said. "He disgraced this office and everyone who works here."
McGinty continued: "By creating false evidence, lying to witnesses as well as another prosecutor, Aaron Brockler has damaged the prosecution’s chances in a murder case where a totally innocent man was killed at his work."
However, the gambit fell apart when Brockler went on medical leave to have eye surgery. One of his colleagues, Kevin Filliatraut, took the case while Brockler was away and found the transcripts. When Brockler admitted it was really him, Filliatraut immediately alerted McGinty. According to McGinty, Brockler sank what little chance he had of keeping his job by telling even more lies during the disciplinary investigation. Since Brockler's actions turned him into a potential witness, the state attorney general's office is now handling the case.