To Protect And... Rape?

[Telefrog]

A NY cop allegedly raped a drunk woman (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30459730/) while his partner acted as a lookout. Details are sketchy (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/04/28/2009-04-28_nypd_cops_charged_in_rape_of_druken_woman_they_ escorted_home.html), and of course, the cops deny it.

Here's what is known:

Surveillance video showed the cops helping the visibly drunken woman into her building at 1:10a.m.

They left her apartment about seven minutes later, but returned a second time for 17 minutes about 2.50 a.m. They quickly returned, and stayed inside for 34 minutes.

There was no DNA evidence recovered, but prosecutors said Moreno admitted he used a condom during the assault.

Moreno is already married and has kids.

A packet of heroin was found in Moreno's locker.

The alleged lookout partner (Mata) initially refused to hand over his memo book.

I think even if it wasn't "rape" the cop certainly showed some poor judgment.

[Ink Asylum]

Ugh. Disgusting if true, and it sure looks that way.

I just don't get some people. What possesses them to do this and did they honestly think no one would find out? It's baffling.

[Telefrog]

I should also toss out the boilerplate caveat:

Not all cops are bad. For the most part, they are good people doing a difficult job, etc.

[biosc1]

I should also toss out the boilerplate caveat:

Not all cops are bad. For the most part, they are good people doing a difficult job, etc.

Exactly. Unfortunately, when one does wrong, it really stands out due to their position in our society.

I know a handful of cops and they are disgusted by those who bring shame to their profession. A whole lot of good work by many can be flushed down the toilet by one person.

[National Kato]

It's just an unfortunate side-effect of a position that wields power that it can attract unsavory individuals.

[Narradisall]

What I never understand is, if your a bent cop, WHY THE HELL do they hide stuff like drugs etc in their locker?

Why?

Its the first place Internal affiars or anyone would look.

[TheFlyingOrc]

I just don't get some people. What possesses them to do this and did they honestly think no one would find out? It's baffling.
Well, without the surveillance camera, they would have gotten away with it.

Most likely, he simply wanted to feel in control of a situation. Rape is often used by people who feel that they don't have any power over their own lives - if they can control someone else, they feel more in control in general.

That type of personality is also pretty likely to be a cop. too.

[Kelegacy]

He probably gave her swine flu.

[TheFlyingOrc]

He probably gave her swine flu.

As a huge fan of bad taste, this is in very bad taste.

[headhunter228]

What I never understand is, if your a bent cop, WHY THE HELL do they hide stuff like drugs etc in their locker?

Why?

Its the first place Internal affiars or anyone would look.

Because people are stupid.

[BlackPete]

I should also toss out the boilerplate caveat:

Not all cops are bad. For the most part, they are good people doing a difficult job, etc.

This is true. However, it is definitely harder to maintain a positive attitude about cops in general. It's even getting to my mother even though she had a father and brother-in-law in the RCMP. Nowadays she doesn't talk about the RCMP at all.

It's a real shame.

[Inspector Fowler]

My $0.02 is this:

There are some bad cops out there. They are a small percentage, but of course they make the news. And they should - a truly corrupt or violent cop is disgusting - it's a breakdown of the system. Cops are the only people who are allowed, without penalty, to remove your civil rights in some situations. If you can't trust them, the public needs to know.

However: The media's only job is to get you to read/watch/buy their stuff. A reporter might be trying to get you the facts, sure. But his editor and their editor-in-chief have no real obligation other than to their newspaper/show/blog/whatever.

This leads quickly to a situation where only troubling and disgusting news about cops makes it to the surface, and even non-crooked cops get sensationalized over an (eventually unfounded) complaint.

People do not tune in to the news or hit up a website to see, "Whatever happened to that cop who talked that rape victim out of killing herself?" or "Let's see if they gave a commendation to that cop who pulled that kid out the bathroom window while his dad was on a violent rampage through the house!" That simply does not get ratings or site visitors.

If the facts support this guy being, at the least, a disgusting pig, and at the worst, an unspeakably repulsive criminal, let him eat his whole punishment. Just remember that not only is he a very, very small percentage of cops, you will also hear a lot more about it because that is the media's job - to keep you coming back for more.

Don't get down on all cops. The more people buy into this, the more it reinforces the "us vs them" mentality on both the police and the public sides of the fence. Just realize that the press makes its living off creating that mentality in you.

[alienmastermind]

Also, not for nothing, but isn't the guy innocent? Until proven guilty and all? I mean the evidence is damning, but the jury is still WAAAY out.

[Ox]

Also, not for nothing, but isn't the guy innocent? Until proven guilty and all?
I don't know. Was Jack the Ripper innocent? Was Richard Nixon? Neither of them were ever tried by jury.

The legal formulation is that one is presumed innocent in a court of law until proven guilty. But obviously that's a very limited presumption. We hunt you, capture you, restrain you, imprison you, and confiscate or seize your property prior to trial. Cops and prosecutors routinely say, without qualification, that you are "guilty" prior to trial. Victims, of course, report you as having committed a crime and testify to that effect prior to trial and conviction. And the actual event of the alleged crime took place long before any of this got started. Finally, unless I'm mistaken, this is not a court of law: we are entitled to exercise any presumption, or no presumption, as it pleases us.

So I'm going to go with "No."

[Deadend]

Don't trust someone just because they have a badge.

[CES]

Don't trust someone just because they have a badge.

Don't hate them for it either.

[Deadend]

Don't hate them for it either.

Trust and hate are not mutually exclusive. I don't trust most people, I don't hate them.

[CES]

Trust and hate are not mutually exclusive. I don't trust most people, I don't hate them.

Which was pretty much my point. Regardless of the fact that they might have a badge, you should still be neutral.

[alienmastermind]

Which was pretty much my point. Regardless of the fact that they might have a badge, you should still be neutral.

You can base your opinion on experience though. Take for example this true story from my own life.

My first car accident happened the very first day I had my license. I was pulling out of Peaches with a carload of friends, and we were sideswiped by this Honda Civic that got totally mutilated in the impact. (I was driving an 88 Mustang) We pulled into Dunkin' Donuts, where the lady went off her rocker, and I'm standing there, sick as a dog, while my friends are defending me. She was speeding, and tried to get around us as we pulled into traffic (she pointed that there was a merge lane, even while a buddy of mine, Matt, stood in the traffic lane and shook his head at her).

At any rate, shortly after pulling into Dunkin' Donuts, her poor whipped man fled inside to call the authorities, to report the accident. The cops arrived in literally minutes. And not just one, but three cop cars arrived at Dunkin' Donuts within the span of probably five minutes.

Does this mean that cops like donuts? I don't know, but the cops in my town sure as HELL got to Dunkin' Donuts awfully fast.

Anyway. The cops told me to just go home after seeing the paint transfer, and the fact that my car's damage amounted to a cracked reflector near the front driver's side turn signal. No ticket, no nothing.

So, to this day, I still think there's something to the 'cops like donuts' thing. Also, one of the cops brutally raped one of my friends with a lamp. But he was drunk and asking for it.

[CES]

You can base your opinion on experience though. Take for example this true story from my own life.

*example*

If we want to go on real life experience I'm still pretty neutral (one bad situation, one good)

The bad:

Sitting with some friends next to some trees, we hear some people generally being idiots. 5 minutes later, 2 police officers show up and question us completely at random. Turns out there was a car behind the trees (that none of us saw) that was broken into. The police, without asking I should point out, grabbed my backpack and rummaged through it supposedly looking for anything "suspicious"

The good:

A few weeks back I was coming back from an outing to the pub with the same group of friends when 3 people decided that they wanted our money and phones. To back up their intent, all three had knives. A nearby person phoned the police and within two minutes four cars showed up, boxed us all in and quickly arrested the three idiots.

I guess I can use the CoG stock favourite acronym for this but YMMV (like just about everything).