Source: slate.com 7/23/24 A series of recent groundbreaking investigative reports unveiled what many advocates for police accountability have known for decades: Child sex abuse by law enforcement officials is far too common across our country. Systemic failures within policing—coupled with lax oversight by police departments, prosecutors, and judges—too often shield police officers from meaningful accountability. Child sex abuse is chronic and widespread, yet justice for survivors is rare. Studies have found that nearly 25 percent of girls and roughly 8 percent of boys experience sexual abuse before turning 18. Numerous…
Read MoreTag: predatory police
CA Supreme Court ruling will change how police interact with public when stopping, questioning
Source: abc7news.com 5/3/24 SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A new ruling by the California Supreme Court may change how police interact with the public. Community groups say it’s an important step to prevent over-policing. But some police unions say it’s going to make it harder for police to work effectively. “I think it’s a very important decision,” says Sujung Kim, a managing attorney at the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. She says with this ruling, the Supreme Court of California is finally recognizing instances of over-policing — especially in communities of…
Read MoreIn This Police Youth Program, a Trail of Sexual Abuse Across the U.S.
Source: themarshallproject.org 5/1/24 Explorer posts, overseen by the Boy Scouts, are supposed to foster an interest in policing. They have faced nearly 200 allegations of misconduct. STOUGHTON, Mass. — The last known person to see Sandra Birchmore alive was a police officer. He stopped by her apartment days before the elementary school teacher’s aide, 23 years old and newly pregnant, was found dead in February 2021. The medical examiner later ruled her death a suicide. The officer worked for the Stoughton Police Department, near Boston, where he first met Birchmore…
Read MoreMI: Feds sued over prison attack that killed sex offender, hurt 2 others
[detroitnews.com – 12/11/20] Detroit — Two federal prison inmates and the estate of a third are suing the government, claiming officials at a Monroe County lockup failed to prevent a 2019 attack on the sex offenders, one of whom was stomped and stabbed to death. Christian Maire, Michal Figura and Craig Evans were attacked in January 2019 in the East Unit of The Federal Correctional Institution, Milan. Maire was stomped and stabbed repeatedly with a shank before being thrown down a flight of stairs, prosecutors said. Figura and Evans survived the attack, although…
Read MoreKY: A third Louisville police officer has pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a minor in Explorer program
[wdrb.com – 11/16/20] LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A third Louisville Metro Police officer has pleaded guilty to sexual abusing a minor while serving as a mentor in the department’s youth Explorer program. Former Officer Brad ____ faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court on Monday to a misdemeanor charge of sexual abuse. ____ , who resigned from the department earlier this month, will be sentenced March 10, and prosecutors indicated they would recommend six months incarceration. The judge will…
Read MoreThe Police Who Prey on Victims [opinion]
[cato.org] Although much of the press has been focused, of late, on the incidents of sexual assault in the entertainment and media industries, it is also among the most pernicious and likely under-reported varieties of on-duty police misconduct. The police are viewed by the majority of the public as among the most trusted institutions in society, behind the military and small business. Many of the people who come into contact with police, though, suffer the stigma of criminal records, tenuous immigration status, mental illness, intoxication or substance addiction, or some…
Read More