justice, american style, dispensed by cops;

Idaho Falls, ID — As frequent readers of the Free Thought Project understand, police officers mistake innocent individuals for criminals all the time. Often times, their fear gets the best of them and these folks who have committed no crime and harmed no one, are beaten or arrested only to be exonerated down the road. One man in Idaho Falls, however, will not have a chance to be exonerated because the police who mistook him for a suspect — executed him.

On February 8, 2021, Elias Aurelio Cerdas, a 26-year-old officer who graduated from training less than a year before the shooting, entered the backyard of Joseph “Joe” Johnson, a father of four, mistook him for a criminal, and executed him.

For nearly six month, Cerdas remained on paid vacation without charges but all that changed in August of last year when he was indicted for manslaughter.

While Johnson’s family thought they were going to see justice, all that came to a screeching halt this week when during the trial, 7th District Judge Darren Simpson announced that the case against Elias Cerdas was dismissed on the condition that Cerdas complete 100 hours of firearm, use-of-force and supervised patrol training in the next year.

“During that time, he will be on modified duty, which he is currently on,” Simpson said. “At the time it is completed, the case would be dismissed with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.”

Not only will this cop face no consequences for executing an innocent father on his own property but he’ll also remain a cop!

As we reported last year, shortly after midnight early that morning, a Bonneville County Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to make a traffic stop at which point the vehicle came to a stop and the driver of the vehicle fled into a residential neighborhood. The deputy involved in the pursuit told fellow officers they were looking for a man in a black shirt..........read more.........