WORDS:
BESS
BROWNING.
PHOTOS:
TI
PRODUCTIONS
T
hey’rea symbolofpowerand
protection,a groupwithin
societywerelyonwhenwe
areatriskorintrouble,but
a growingnumberofpoliceofficersare
swayingtothewrongsideofthelaw.
Ina newBBCThreedocumentary
AbusedbythePolice?airingnextweek,
presenterEllieFlynn(right)uncoversthe
sickeningscaleofpolicein theUSA
sexuallyabusingwomenin theircustody.
Shemeetsthreewomenwhoallclaimto
havebeena victimofofficers’advances,
andwhoarespeakingoutforthefirst
timeabouttheirharrowingexperiences.
They’renotalone.Professor,former
policeofficerandlawyerPhilipStinson
saystherewere2,200casesofpolice
sexabusein theUSAreportedin thepressover 10 years,witharoundhalfthevictims
under18.‘Peoplehavenoideaofthe
scopeoftheproblem,’hesaid.‘It’sjust
thetipoftheiceberg.I havetoassume
theproblemis much,muchlarger
becausemanyofthevictimsare
terrifiedofreportingthecrime.Who
doyoucallif you’vebeensexually
assaultedbya policeofficer?’
A little-knownloopholebanned
sexbetweencorrectionworkersand
prisonersin NewYorkState,butdidn’t
specifypolice;andit appliedto 35 US
states.Sincetheprogrammewasmade,
a billhasbeenpassedmakingit illegal
forpolicetohavesexwithanyonein their
custody.Butwhatofthetrailofdestruction
alreadyleftbehind,andis thebillenough
tostopofficersabusingtheirpower?EllieFlynntalks
toMeganTHEFACTS
●Onaverage,aserving
USpoliceofficerisarrestedfor
asexcrimeevery
35 hours
●Policeofficers
intheUSA
werechargedwith
forcible
rape^405 times
between
2005 and^2013●Only15.8%-35%
of
allsexualassaults
in
Americaarereported
tothepolice‘I knewat
thatpoint
I was
trapped’
‘Whowouldbelievea drunk22-year-oldgirl?’
A woman,identifiedonlyasMegan,says
shewassexuallyassaultedbytwopolice
officers.In 2011,whenMeganwasjust22,
she’dbeenoutdrinkingwithfriendswhen
a policeofficerwavedherovertohis
patrolcar.Shewantedtogohome,so
whentheofficer
askedhertoget
in,sheagreed.‘He
toldmetogetin
thefrontasI hadn’t
beenarrested,’she
says.‘I remember
oneoftheofficers
touchingme,and
I knewatthatpoint
I wastrapped.’
Whathappened
nextwouldmentally
scarMeganfortherestofherlife.Shesaysoneoftheofficers
madeherperformoralsexonhimbefore
theydrovebacktoherhouseandheled
herinsidein handcuffs.
Sheremembersoneofthem
askingher,‘Are
youreadytobe
tag-teamedby
twocops?’before
theyassaulted
herin herbed.
It wasonlywhen
shestartedscreamingfor
herneighbour’sattention
thattheyfled.
‘Theyimmediatelycalled
thepoliceandI justknew
thatwasnotwhoI wanted
themtocall,’shesaid.
‘If nobodyhadheardme,I wouldneverhavesaidanything.The
policearein charge– andwhowould
believea drunk22-year-oldgirl?’Wrongdoingdenied
Theofficers,PaulClavijo,
andJuanVasquez,both
then41,claimedthesexwas
consensual,butin May 2011
theduowereindictedon
26 countsofcriminalsexual
assault,criminalsexualabuse
andofficialmisconduct.
However,aftera three-yearinvestigation,
thetwoofficerswereoffereda pleadeal.
Theyeachadmittedtofelonyofficial
misconductthatallegesnosexual
wrongdoingontheirpart.Asasresult,
theyweresentencedbya judgetotwo
yearsofprobation.A newdocumentaryinvestigatescaseswhere
policehavebeenonthewrongsideof thelaw
Aren’t they
meant to
PROTECT US?