A sickening story from The Philadelphia Inquirer:
When Philadelphia Police Officer Annamae Law arrived at district headquarters, she says, the place was buzzing.
" 'You should have been here,' " she said one officer told her. " 'You missed the show.' "
Here's what she missed, according to sworn statements of two women: An officer in a Fishtown police station had forced them to put on a sex show in a jail cell, ordering them to expose their breasts and kiss as a price of release.
"It was so uncomfortable and degrading," Erica Hejnar, one of the women, said in an interview. "I couldn't believe it was happening. I kept saying, 'Why are you doing this to us?' "
Today, three years after the women reported this bizarre episode, the case remains open. Even though an outraged Law says the "show" was the talk of the station house, no officers have been arrested or disciplined.
The allegations highlight a persistent but hidden problem in law enforcement: police officers who use their badges to exploit women or extort sex, and departments that fail to vigorously investigate such abuse.
It gets worse. Go read the whole thing, if you can stand it.
This article is Part 2 in an ongoing series. Here is an excerpt from Part 1:
"The women are terrified," said Penny Harrington, the former police chief of Portland, Ore., and founder of the National Center for Women and Policing. "Who are they going to call? It's the police who are abusing them."
When women do come forward, their complaints are often ignored.
Indeed, experts say, culprits tend to target vulnerable women such as prostitutes, drug addicts or drunks, knowing they likely won't be believed.
"You don't pick the mother of three, the soccer mom. You don't pick the prom queen," a prosecutor said during a 1997 trial of a Norristown police officer convicted of sexual assault.
"You pick the delinquent kid. You pick one of the street crawlers, people out there at 4 in the morning."
The extent of the problem remains concealed from the public - and police chiefs - because departments often lump sex-abuse allegations into such categories as "conduct unbecoming."
It gets worse. Go read the
The actions of a few in the police department shouldn't carry over to ALL of them. There are bad apples no matter where you go, but that doesn't mean they are ALL like that.
I am VERY pro-law enforcement and think they have a thankless job as it is. The lastest articles in the Inky are nothing more than another way to sell a story.
BTW, do ALWAYS believe EVERYTHING that the Media tells you? They are the biggest whores out there. They'll do and say ANYTHING to make a buck.
I do believe that if those accused are guilty, they should pay, but I don't believe the whole department should suffer because of the other idiots.
You make a good point,
You make a good point, kateykakes, except for one thing: one of the people making these accusations is herself a member of the police department. Please re-read the opening of the article.
You're right that the actions of a few should not carry over to the whole department, but that's EXACTLY WHY the department needs to investigate these allegations seriously. If these allegations had been investigated fully, no one would be painting this with a broad brush. But the pattern of silence and investigative neglect that it has displayed tars the entire department. If makes it seem as if the whole department doesn't care about these issues, and I find that reprehensible.
I think it's very possible to respect the police department and condemn these actions strongly. In fact, I think that if you respect the department, you HAVE to condemn this rather than placing a blind trust in it.
Note: I've edited the title of the post to make it less incendiary.
Matt,I'll be honest - I
Matt,
I'll be honest - I didn't read the article. I read your comments and went from there.
The Inquirer has been running a series on the particular topic at hand, and as is typical with them, they only find the negative to write about when it comes to law enforcement, especially the Philadelphia Police Department. I decided I wouldn't read anymore of that series, and I haven't. I skimmed your post and read your very brief comments only. They ran an article prior to the one you posted, and it was story that should never have surfaced again, IMO. The officers accused pled guilty, but as far as I'm concerned, I don't feel the whole department should suffer:
See here
Redgaring the article you posted, here are some comments from officers from a forum I belong to.
thanks for those links,
thanks for those links, Kateykakes. I just want to point out, again, that I wouldn't have posted this if a Philadelphia police officer hadn't corroborated the story. That's something that I don't see addressed in either of the forums to which you've linked.
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