TheAgitator.com
The New Professionalism
Friday, March 14th, 2008An Albany woman was stopped for no apparent reason, then, with no apparent probable cause, was subjected to a humiliating public search for drugs in which an officer inserted two fingers into her vagina. They also seized her cell phone, and made a random call to one of her contacts, again without a warrant or probable cause. They found no drugs.
The woman filed a complaint, but it was never forwarded to the city’s civilian review board, whose entire purpose is to investigate complaints against the police. The police chief explained that the police aren’t required to forward every complaint to the board, particularly if the complainant requests that it not be, as the chief says happened in this case. This apparently came as a surprise to the city councilman who actually wrote the review board legislation.
As for the woman not wanting her complaint forwarded to the review board, that’s apparently because an internal affairs officer “persuaded” her to let the complaint be handled internally.
A member of the Citizens’ Police Review Board, who spoke on condition of anonymity because only the chairman is authorized to make public statements, said some members of the board have privately suspected that the department may be hiding cases of police misconduct.
In other instances, the internal affairs reports are so poorly organized and investigated the board has had trouble reaching decisions and often sends them back for more investigation. The board is supposed to appoint a monitor for complaints involving civil rights violations or allegations of excessive force.
“Whether the letter of the law says that this should be the process, the intent and spirit of the law mandates that, especially in cases of civil rights violations, they be submitted to us for review,” the board member said. “If not this, what do we review? … The fact they would dissuade someone from reporting an incident and say they would do the investigation better completely defeats the purpose of why we were created.”
Shutter said she grew increasingly unnerved by her experience with internal affairs — which is known as the Office of Professional Standards — because male detectives twice requested she wear clothes from the night of the incident to re-enact the body search.
Tuffey declined to comment on a list of written questions submitted by the Times Union last week, including why internal affairs officials didn’t assign a female detective on Shutter’s case.
“I hold our officers to the highest standards and I expect a complete and thorough investigation, but at this time, since there is an ongoing internal investigation, it would be inappropriate for me to comment.”
Neither officer involved in the incident has been interviewed by internal affairs, according to departmental sources.
Shutter met once with internal affairs detectives. They refused to give her a copy of a signed statement she made recounting the incident, she said.
Civilian review boards are a great idea, so long as they’re given subpoena and investigative powers, their findings and disciplinary recommendations are followed, and they’re taken seriously by prosecutors and police officials. Too often, that’s not the case.
Incidentally, the two officers in Albany have yet to be disciplined–not even the obligatory “suspension with pay.” And now more people are coming forward with similar allegations.
Yet to be disciplined? Can you imagine what would happen if a woman came forward and said some man (non cop) raped her? (And that’s what happened here – this woman was raped). No tests, no corroborating witness testimony, the simple claim of the victim against some random dude off the street… He would be arrested and very probably held without bail on account of being a danger to the community.
When you’re a cop and you do it, you don’t even get interrogated. Is there a city-councilman or police administrator/commanding officer in the entire country that could explain the concept of rule of law with a straight face?
Sure, they’d just describe it as “we are the law”.
I will avoid a police encounter at all costs! I don’t trust them any more! That is, other than, I trust that they will be belligerent, arrogant, and rude.
Police wouldn’t have any excuse for this if not for the “War on Drugs” which has really become a war on the American people. The casualties are mounting faster than ones in Iraq.
I agree, I avoid policemen at all costs, I don’t trust any cop, and my father was one for 20 years. I pretty much figure they are all like these two are until proven otherwise. And I really don’t care if it’s one or two bad apples, it’s guilt by association unless they prosecute their own as they would anyone in the general public.
*anoscopy*
*forcibly sedated*
Holy fucking shit, people. Who needs alien abductions when you’ve got your local boys in blue?
I’m not trying to be funny, this is sickening.
Dugg:
http://digg.com/people/The_New_Professionalism
I love how the police get away with the “suspended with pay” line. Last time I checked everyone else calls that “vacation”.
I agree with Jerry. In cases like this, the “Blue Wall of Silence” is an indictment of the integrity of every cop in the nation. This is absolutely gut-wrenching.
These cops may benefit from a program like this:
http://www.bakelblog.com/nobodys_business/2008/03/i-despise-the-m.html
Well, not to stick up for cops, Robert, but in general suspended with pay sort of makes sense for lesser (non-criminal things) because you may not have enough info to make a conclusion so you don’t want to deprive the officer of his pay, but you also don’t want someone who may be a problem on the street doing this important job.
Also, don’t forget the officer has a due process right to his pay check and his job because he works for the government, plus union CBAs, so it’s not always easy to strip someone of their pay early in the game.
Of course this alleged-criminal hasn’t even gotten that treatment, so this is really academic.
Bronwyn, exactly what I was thinking. That article was horrific. WTF is up with the albany police dept feeling the need to search every orifice during a stop?
I’d like to see the minutes from the meeting where roadside body cavity search protocols were discussed. Don’t police have protocols? Procedures? RULES?!? Surely this sort of thing is properly documented and authorized.
Oh, it isn’t? Then let’s see some assault charges, please.
Heh, Radley – check out the following from the DUI Blog:
http://www.duiblog.com/2008/03/05/catheter-forced-into-penis-after-dui-arrest/
Honestly, how can anyone think that a body cavity search is ever justified in a traffic stop? Or in any search without a warrant specifying what cavities are to be searched and for what?
Also, every child in school should learn to say “no, I do not consent to a search” day one in their civics lesson. Damn it, if I am innocent I do indeed have nothing to hide, but a search is also an insult to me a violation of my rights and a waste of time for both of us.
Of all the horrible police actions you’ve documented, this may be the most despicable one not resulting in a death.
If I thought I was going to be forcibly sedated and have a camera shoved up my ass, “resisting arrest” would be the least of what I’d be charged with.
If the police departments won’t deal with officers who grossly violate citizens like this, someday the citizens will take care of the problem themselves. And the departments will have no one but themselves to blame.
This is total craziness. As far as I know, in my state, a woman cannot even be searched by a male police officer. Isn’t that the rule everywhere?
Get a rope.
Or, if not up to that, tar, and feathers, and a rail with a nice sharp upper edge on it.
An intrusive body search made at a medical centre? If this is the case then if any medical personnel are involved then they are guilty too. These look like plain straight out cases of assault. If there are no warrants and possibly even if there are, then everbody involved in carrying them out should be suspended and up on assault charges and quite possibly on rape charges.
Holy Christ!
Do these things happen at checkpoints in Iraq? All those soldiers who got ahead in Iraq will return to the states, and will take jobs in law enforcement.
Please don’t insult our troops by comparing them to police officers.
I found the 6k+ bill from the hospital to Clements for the body cavity search even more disturbing. They sedated and searched him without his consent and without a warrant and then turned around and tried to charge him for the pleasure.
I hope Clements sues the hospital as well, and that the settlement comes out of Shirley in Risk Management and the rest of the involved staff’s salaries.
In Portland Oregon about 20 years ago there was a cop in the St Johns district using color of authority to, well, cop feels from high school girls. The whitewash bureau refused to do anything about it. The first string of St Johns High’s football team did.
Three weeks in hospital, some replacement teeth, and some administrative leave.