Bad Cop No Donut 17/08/2018
Another weekly report on police brutality and misconduct.
Entire police force quits
The entire police force – ok only 4 – of a town in Massachusetts resigns because ‘no one cares about them’. Unfortunately this story is about resources and work conditions not about the entire town thinking they’re bastards. No tears and no donuts for them.
Rape Cases Not Handled Well
Queensland police shredded a woman’s rape statement – having not previously spoken to her or investigated the claim.
They also told the suicidal victim they could not wave a magic wand and fix all of her problems.
Guardian Australia reports the woman (known as Lyla for anonymity) went to the police regarding her manipulative and violent former partner. Speaking to the police only made the situation worse.
The woman left Queensland after the man raped her and reported first to a Victorian police station.
Lyla was told a Queensland officer would contact her within days but after waiting four weeks and suffering severe anxiety she withdrew her complaint.
Last month she made contact with the detective assigned to her case. Lyla recorded the conversation.
The detective told her he was handling 30 cases, he went through them in the order they arrived, and that sometimes police did not act on complaints for a year.
Lyla told the detective about a suicide attempt in January. He responded by saying he had a “limited amount of patience” and that she seemed to want police to fix her problems.
The detective said it was “kind of odd” that Lyla waited several months to report her former partner. It would have been “a hell of a lot easier” if she had come forward at the time.
Lyla was told her statement had been deleted and shredded.
After the initial publication of this story, the destruction of Lyla’s documents has been referred to the police ethical standards command for investigation.
Women’s groups say stories like this are very common in a state that has no specialist police or trained officers to handle sexual violence complaints, and where “mistaken belief” in sexual consent is still a legal defence.
Although of course a statement from QLD says –
“Our first priority will always be the wellbeing of victims of sexual crime and the Queensland police service works closely with support agencies to ensure they are supported through the legal process.”
In Australia, the national rape and domestic violence hotline is 1800 RESPECT (737 732) and the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org
Authorities say a central Indiana officer accidentally shot and wounded himself while placing his gun back in its holster at police headquarters.
The Anderson Police Department says the officer was wounded Tuesday afternoon when the gun discharged unexpectedly.
In other police self harm news a Rhode Island police department is reviewing an incident in which a gun accidentally went off after the funeral for a slain Massachusetts police officer, slightly injuring two other officers.
The Cranston officer, who was not identified, was changing out of his uniform on a bus outside the cemetery. His gun accidentally slipped from his holster and went off.
Two nearby officers were hurt by debris kicked up by the bullet but refused treatment.
Portland
Portland police deployed explosive devices and chemical irritants at antifascist protesters who arrived on the waterfront to confront right-wing marchers.
The far-right groups were led by U.S. Senate candidate Joey Gibson and a men’s fraternity called the Proud Boys.
Dozens of those interviewed said they were there to utilise their “freedom of speech.” To do so, they came armed with bats, weighted fighting gloves, wooden poles, canisters of mace, knives, shields and body armour.
They stood across the street and laughed as they watched police deploy “flash-bangs” on the protesters.
Neither side had permits, but police provided protection to the far right to march for two blocks.
To clear the way, police shot dozens of flash-bang grenades at more than 1,000 people who had gathered to oppose what they say are white supremacists.
According to the Rosehips Medics, a collective that provides first aid during street protests, at least three people were hit by the flash-bang grenades.
Photos show a heavy-duty bicycle helmet punctured by a flash-bang grenade canister. On the other side of the helmet blood can be seen. Flesh and blood are massed on the man’s head in a different photo as he wears a neck brace and is treated by medical personnel.
According to a text message from his girlfriend, a trauma nurse at the hospital said, “The hit would have been lethal if he wasn’t wearing a helmet.”
Racist Police in Queensland
A Queensland police officer used a fake Facebook account to bombard an Aboriginal rights activist with racist taunts.
Leanne Rissman – who works in Townsville – hurled abuse at Geraldton’s Joyce Capewell on her Facebook page, Boomerang Justice, using the alias ‘Anne T Sharia’.
When sounded out phonetically ‘Anne T Sharia‘ sounds like ‘anti-sharia’. Sharia is the moral code and religious law of Islam.
Ms Capewell started Boomerang Justice last year after 20 years of working in the Western Australia prison system and interacting with Aboriginal inmates. The page aims to raise awareness about ongoing Aboriginal deaths in custody.
On New Year’s Day, Senior Constable Rissman referred to indigenous people as ‘scum bags’ and ‘oxygen thieves’ on a post about Tony Abbott‘s indigenous advisory council.
‘Get off your a*** get a job and start giving something back to your own and the greater community,’ Senior Constable Rissman allegedly posted under the Anne T Sharia alias.
A Queensland Police Service spokesperson confirmed an officer had been disciplined in relation to a complaint made by Ms Capewell in January.
In response, the complaint was investigated by a senior officer and found to warrant significant remedial action.
The officer was subsequently required to undertake a number of training programs.
Included are programs relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, race relations, and social issues.
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