Rape is Rape

I try not to be political here on my blog, but sometimes I just can’t help myself and this is one of those times.

How can I hear the words forcible rape being bantered around by politicians on TV? Forcible is one of the main elements of rape.

Black’s Law Dictionary defines rape as the

Unlawful sexual intercourse with a female without her consent. The unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman by a man forcibly and against her will. The act of sexual intercourse committed by a man with a woman not his wife and without her consent committed when a woman's resistance is overcome by force or fear, or under other prohibitive conditions. 

(There are some states where a husband can be charged with raping his wife.)

The word rape should not be used unless there is force or the fear of force. The use of legitimate rape or forcible rape doesn’t exist. I think what these politicians are talking about is date rape. To technically be date rape there still must be the use of force or the fear of the use of force.  The victim is fearful of her lover, or her husband. People close to the victim can still be a threat to her. Not to mention just because a woman has had sex with a man several times in the past does not mean she always wants to have sexual intercourse with him; there is always the issue of consent.

Perception is also important in rape cases as in several other types of crimes. What did the victim perceive? Did she feel threatened? Did she think the man had the ability to hurt her? Just the usual size differences can cause fear. Many women also depend on men for their financial support. They fear themselves doing without, or worse yet, their children doing without.

The rape I will describe below stands out among the various rapes I 've worked throughout my law enforcement career.

In one of the jurisdictions where I worked I was sent to an address reference a possible rape. The victim lived alone in one of the apartments in a house that had been converted into multiple apartments. She was in her late seventies. The owner of the converted house also owned and rented out the house next to it.

The victim was noticeably embarrassed and uncomfortable talking about the attack, however I still needed to ask her to explain everything that happened.  According to the victim, the previous morning the young man that lived in the house next store came to her door and told her the landlord told him he could contact her to get a bed frame out of the storage room that was next to the victim’s apartment. The victim said she walked out into the hall and showed him the door to the storage room. She said he politely thanked her and went into the room and was there for several minutes. Soon after, there was a knock at her apartment door and it was the same young man. While she was holding the door open he forced his way through the door shoving her backwards into the apartment. He led her into the bedroom and told her to lie on the bed; he undressed her, then pulled down his pants and raped her. As soon as he left, she took the sheets off the bed put them in a laundry basket, put her clothes in the laundry basket then took a shower. She said she felt so dirty. The victim said she then called a friend who told her she should call the police, but she didn’t want to because she was scared of possible retaliation by her rapist/neighbor. The following morning she took the soiled laundry to the laundry mat and it was that afternoon she talked with her daughter on the telephone that told her she should report it or the neighbor might come back again.

Although the rape had been well over twenty four hours, I convinced her to let me take her to the hospital. She had some tears in her vaginal area because it had been years since she had sexual intercourse. The hospital was able to swab some residual seminal fluid from her vagina.

I got an arrest warrant and arrested the suspect later that evening. I never went to court on that case as it was plead out, but the suspect did do some jail time.

The suspect didn’t have a gun or knife or any kind of weapon. He was probably four times as big as the victim as well as four times younger.  Is that force? She could only fathom what he might do if she resisted.  How do we start categorizing rape?  I cannot see why. Apparently some current politicians think we should.  And this entire hubbub started in connection with abortion, let’s not even go there.  

Until next time,

Sally S

Slippery Slope

One winter snowy and icy night in one of my jurisdictions I was dispatched to a non-injury car accident.  When I arrived at the scene, I observed a car had struck a power pole that was approximately one foot from the curb. The car had front-end damage and the pole was leaning down with power lines within reach and hanging slightly over the street causing a traffic hazard. I requested my dispatcher contact the power company to repair the pole and a wrecker company to tow the vehicle that was not drivable.

I talked with the driver of the damaged vehicle and was told he lost control coming down the bridge when the car started to slide. He said he tried to turn the car or stop the car, but could not and continued to slide down the bridge. The driver further stated his family recently moved to this state and had previously lived in a warm climate where he had never driven in snow and ice.  The wrecker arrived and towed the vehicle off.

While I was talking with the driver I observed several cars come down the bridge, they were driving slowly and I could see them gently pumping the brakes.  The cars were slipping and sliding, but none lost control. The bridge looked very slippery.

Almost simultaneously with the arrival of the wrecker, the Power Company repair truck arrived. To utilize the cherry picker on the truck the driver needed to obstruct a large portion of the street at the bottom of the bridge. I parked my patrol car in front of the repair truck with my overhead lights activated to warn drivers coming over and down the bridge of the hazard.  Several cars came down slipping and sliding a little bit, but remained under control.  I was standing outside my vehicle trying to direct traffic when suddenly I noticed a car coming down the bridge appearing that the driver had applied the brakes causing the wheels to lock and was sliding down the bridge out of control.  The sliding vehicle appeared to be coming right at me with the driver holding their arms up in the air in fright. I jumped up and over the hood of my car out of the way of both vehicles. I didn’t want to get squashed between the oncoming car and my patrol car and I didn’t want to get squashed between my patrol car and the power company truck.

At the last second while still sliding downhill out of control, the sliding vehicle veered to the left just missing my patrol car by about 10-12 inches.  This driver too said they had just recently moved to the area and had never driven on snow and ice.

Fortunately, the repairman finished repairing the power pole and lines shortly and I could go back to driving the streets where it was safer.

I really have no kernels of alleged wisdom to share or questions to ask, but I thought this was a cute story. To this day I do not recall ever moving that fast again. I almost felt like a super hero leaping over cars and all.  I was also younger in my early years of my law enforcement career.

Until tomorrow,

Sally S

Turf Battles

Turf battles are a common occurrence in law enforcement.  I’ll give you an example or two.

It was around 1:00 one morning when I was working the midnight shift in one of the cities where I worked.  I heard over the car radio that a state trooper was involved in a car chase in a nearby town and were headed in the direction of the city where I was. I do not recall why the driver of the car was being pursued. I set up my patrol car as a roadblock in the area of one of our interstate onramps in an effort to keep the suspect vehicle from getting onto the interstate. Eventually the chase got to our city. I could hear the chase approaching me, both over the radio and blaring sirens. (Officers are required to keep their dispatcher and other officers advised of their locations when in a chase.  We will discuss both foot and car chases in a later post).  As the chase came closer to my location I heard the sound of gunfire and the trooper saying over the radio that he had shot at the tires on the suspect vehicle to stop them.  When the tire blow out, the suspect driver lost control of his vehicle and ran into an island of gas pumps at a closed service station.

Almost immediately after the suspect vehicle struck the gas pumps, I heard the trooper state that the suspect got out of his vehicle and was running away. All city officers were en route to the area to look for the escaped suspect. I drove over to the gas station because I was near by and it was my area of patrol that evening.  I was concerned if there had ben any passengers in the suspect vehicle and their condition.  I was also concerned about the possibility of a fire or explosion because of the damaged gas pumps.

I was still appalled that the trooper shot at a moving vehicle.  The purpose of the pursuit must have been damn important, Officers are taught not to shot at moving vehicles. We were lucky that when the suspect lost control he didn’t run into and occupied vehicle driving down the street, or into any of the open restaurants in the area.  The trooper was standing around the station lot looking at the crashed car and talking with my shift commander. I heard the trooper ask who was assigned that area of the city because he wanted to give them a statement to accompany their accident report.  I walked toward both my commander and the trooper and said something to the effect that was I and I had no intention of working that accident. My shift commander backed me up.  I do not recall who worked the accident, all I remember; is that it wasn’t me or anyone one else on my department.  I don’t remember if it was another trooper, or the Sheriff’s department. I went back into service and assisted in the hunt for the suspect. Police jargon would be a suspect at large. Now that I am older and reflect upon that night, maybe I was wrong? Maybe I should have worked the accident? After all, we were both on the same team, trying to enforce the law. Trying to apprehend those who didn’t obey the law? But, I was upset that he made a mess in my turf.

I heard days later that the suspect had hitch hiked back to where he lived, the city where the chase started, and was caught, In police jargon he was apprehended. I also heard the trooper was suspended for a few days.  Guess I wasn’t the only one who thought what he did was really stupid and dangerous.

Here is another example:  I was working a burglary case in one of my jurisdictions. Admittedly I sensed it could have some connections to persons in another country, but I was slowly making headway.  I was called into the office of one of the high-ranking officer’s of the department and told to back off the case.  Of course my usual response was to ask why? I was told that all they were told is the FBI was working an angle associated with some of what I was investigating and that was all I needed to know I never was sure if the FBI did tell my superior and he wouldn’t tell me or if the FBI wouldn’t tell him either. There were a couple of other times the FBI and I locked horns, but I don’t recall many of the details. And now they don't seem very significant. 

I think turf battles are everywhere, not just in law enforcement, but also in all businesses and organizations.  Why are there such turf battles? Aren’t we all on the same teams?

Until next time,

Sally S

Search Warrant for Drugs

At the end of a several month long undercover operation concerning drug dealers several search warrants for residences were issued. All the search warrants were going to be served at the same time early that evening.

 

Eight officers were to go to each home. I was part of the second entry team at the home I went to. The first entry team knocks on the door, says police, waits a second or two, and then opens the door if it is unlocked. If locked, they kick or ram the door down.  Entry must be fast, otherwise people have time to flush drugs, swallow them or dispose of them by some means.  The team quickly enters and searches the home to locate anyone inside. The residents are pat searched for weapons or drugs. The residents are kept together and guarded somewhere in the house. This makes it safe for other officers to search the house. It also prevents the residents from notifying other drug dealers in town what is going on.

Five to ten minutes after the house was searched and secured, the second group of officers were told to go in.  I was instructed to search one of the bedrooms for drugs. I was to locate the drugs, mark the location, and then a second officer would check behind me. This was standard procedure in case the first officer was to miss something; you know the saying “four eyes are better than two.”

I entered the bedroom almost like I was on a “walk in the park.” I perceived no danger, each room of the house had been searched and all persons found were siting on a sofa in the living room.  I walked through the bedroom door, stood still for a second and looked around the room. All a sudden, I thought I heard s faint breathing sound.  I immediately pulled my 357 from it’s holster and approached the closet in front of me to my right.  I thought okay; you could miss finding someone hiding in a closet behind clothes or boxes if you were not real thorough.  I found no one in the closet. I turned around toward the center of the room and noticed the blankets and sheets on the bed were all piled up. The officers who had checked the room could have thrown them about. I was not going to take any chances. I pointed my revolver at the pile of covers and gave a command in as stern a voice as I could conjure up” Get out of the bed now, slowly, come out hands first.” I heard a male voice say,” I don’t have any clothes on.” My response was” I don’t give a damn, get out now.” He did and was wearing only a pair of white briefs.  Apparently all the commotion I was making in the bedroom had been heard and an officer came in, gun drawn to see what was happening. The other office led the man out into the living room.

I just stood still in the room, knowing that at the moment I was too mad to talk with anyone. How could their search have been so sloppy to miss someone lying in a bed? I could have been shot while I was looking in the closet. But I was new to police work, a “new kid on the block.” I didn’t want to criticize those who had been cops longer than I; additionally several were of higher rank. I finished searching the room and found nothing. I later was told most the drugs were found in the kitchen.

This incident brings forth several questions to contemplate in my mind and discuss with others.

Why do we so want to believe and trust? Do we ever verify anything we hear?  Anything we read? Especially on the Internet? If our kids were telling us something we would probably ask for proof, but with adults?

Law enforcement and the judicial system has been waging war on drugs for years and they don’t seem to be winning. Maybe as a society, we should allow those who want to use drugs do so. Thus allow the buying and selling of drugs. Should our law enforcement and judicial dollars and man hours be spent investigating and prosecuting crimes against persons and property opposed to the possession, buying, and selling of drugs?

Until tomorrow,

Sally S

How Did He Die ?

In one of the cities in which I worked I was dispatched to a “check the welfare” call.  A man’s parents had called the department concerned that they had not heard from him and were unable to reach him by phone. Consequently, his parents felt something was wrong. This was many years ago before cell phones, email, and of course Facebook.

Another officer was also dispatched as backup. I was still relatively new on the streets and if not too busy the dispatcher sent someone to help.   I arrived at the apartment house where I was sent, located the apartment, no one answered the door when I knocked. Because the door was locked, I contacted someone in the office to unlock the door. When I entered the apartment I observed a person lying on the floor. I walked over to the body and could see that it was bluish and stiff. I radioed that I had a dead body. The backup officer stated over radio that he was parking his patrol car at that moment.

The body was a caucasian male who appeared to be in his mid twenties and was wearing nothing other than a bathrobe that was wide open. We observed no signs of a struggle. There was also no suicide note. No signs of injury were observable on the body. We did observe a large rubber band attached to a doorknob on the door to the bedroom. (the knob on the living room side) The rubber band was broken. The belt to his robe was tied around his neck with a piece of the broken rubber band affixed to it.  We looked around the apartment for letters or a journal that might indicate signs of depression, a romantic breakup or indications of a cause for suicide. We also looked through his desk for indications of large indebtedness or other factors that might cause depression and consequential suicide. We found nothing.

I started taking measurements of the room, the body location, door location etc. to draw a diagram to go along with the report. A report was always written for an unattended death and was treated as a homicide until proven otherwise. I also took several Polaroid photographs of the room and the body. Both the other officer and I were stumped.  A ranking staff officer (major) radioed that he was responding. Assigned ranking staff officers were to be notified of all unattended deaths until proven otherwise.

The major arrived in about ten or fifteen minutes. He walked into the apartment and asked us to be briefed. We told him we believed it was suicide but could not locate any indication of such, but we had no reason to believe it was a homicide.

The major who had been on the streets longer than I had been alive said he knew what the situation was. He said he had seen many similar cases especially in hotels, motels, in the military, and on college campuses.

I am not sure of the other officer, but I was “all ears”. I was wondering what was I missing? The major stated it appeared to be a case of auto erotica.  In auto erotica males masturbate while limiting their oxygen intake. That is supposed to increase the pleasure level of their orgasm.  According to the major sometimes things went wrong. Chairs fall over as guys attempted to lower themselves from hanging positions and here it looked like the subject lost consciousness and fell backwards which tightened the loop around his neck causing him to lose consciousness and hours later he fell on his back when the band broke.

All of a sudden I felt stupid and sad at the same time. I thought I was quite “worldly” for my age; guess I wasn’t. I felt sad that he lost his life for a few moments of pleasure. Were willing partners that hard to find? I didn’t think so, but maybe there were facts I did not know. The Major wanted this to be handled delicately for the parents sake and he wanted one of the more experienced officers to continue with the case and notify the young man’s parents. I was dismissed from the scene and went back to work.  The rest of the night I felt kind of creepy. It was my first dead body and I was measuring around it as if it was a car at an accident. The creepy feeling lasted into the night. When I got home I woke up my husband and told him I just could not lie next to a still body. I asked him to wake up and talk with me until I got real tired and could fall asleep. I learned throughout the years to detach myself from a crime scene because as much distance that you can create helps your mental well being. Officers still care and are saddened but they limit the extent. This was my first dead body thus it is etched deeply into my mind.

I was told days later that apparently auto erotica in his living room was a regular habit of the individual because under a black light many semen tracks and blotches were noticeable on the living room carpet by the bedroom door. The autopsy indicated asphyxiation as the cause of death and was ruled as an accidental death. Just what the Major said many accidental deaths to males are.

I have trouble relating to these accidental auto erotica deaths.  Are a few moments of extreme pleasure worth the risk? I have become aware of auto erotica without the sexual component happening among our young people as young as junior high. They merely reduce their level of oxygen by manually choking themselves or by others until they pass out. This is supposedly quite a thrill and a rush.

What kind of moral obligation do we as a society have to curb this dangerous behavior? Do we have any responsibility to the adults? To the children? I would really like to get some type of discussion going here on this particular post.

Until tomorrow,

Sally S.

Nuisance Laws

The bar and club owners in one of the cities in which I worked, found a “loop hole” in the city ordinance concerning dancers in their establishments. I do not remember the ordinance verbatim, but it stated that the nipple areas must be covered and the groin area must be covered. The owners startied interpreting the ordinance that “covered” could be by something that was transparent. It didn’t specify in the ordinance that the cover must be opaque.

For a few weeks until the City Commission could revise the ordinance, we patrolled the bars and clubs making sure the dancers were at least wearing their transparent covers.  Because the owners were taking advantage of this new found “loop hole” we were instructed to maintain a police presence to continually check their coverings, which the dancers and owners found annoying.

Being the only female on the police department, I was instructed to get up close to the dancers and verify they did indeed have something pasted on their nipples and their groin area.  I was very glad when the ordinance was modified and I didn’t need to examine the dancer’s bodies closely.

I think maybe we have too many laws that govern petty victimless crimes that people are constantly trying to find a way to get around. The ordinance discussed above was an example. Why couldn’t the girls dance naked? If people did not wish to view nudity they did not need to go to those clubs. The consumption laws are similar. One day a person is too young to consume alcohol, the next day they are old enough. What changed overnight? Did they gain more responsibility? Before people are old enough to consume they can die in military combat, enter into contracts, get married, and have children. All of the afore mentioned activities take a lot of responsibility, don’t they?

What are some laws you think are nuisance laws? People spend time trying to get around them and police spend time trying to enforce them? Do we need these types of laws? Do our police and courts need to focus on other violations of the law?

Until later,

Sally S

VIP Security

The recent intensity of campaigning for the upcoming presidential election has caused me to think about the security of the candidates and various VIP protection situations in which I have been involved.

I have been involved in security for presidents, social activists, and referees.

I have been involved in some phase of presidential security in two different jurisdictions in which I worked. In one of the cities where I was working, our police department was asked to send officers to a nearby city to help “beef “up their security for the president coming to their city to give a speech. When our group of officers arrived at the venue where the president would be speaking we were ushered into a break room type setting. and told that we would only be used if some type of trouble developed. We sat around playing a soccer type game with the saltshakers and peppershakers on the tables for about an hour.  After the president’s speech, we were lined up along the sidewalk on which the president was to walk from the building to his waiting limousine.  We were to be a bullet shield to protect the president. The president walked within about five feet of our line. I was, as were others awe struck. It is hard not to be when you know you are standing there ready to take a bullet for the President of the United States.

In another jurisdiction in which I worked, the President had come to our city to give a speech. I was not involved in the actual security of the President at the venue where he was speaking, but was asked to guard one of his limousines at another location.  The President traveled with several limousines so the public did not know which limousine the President actually was riding in. The one I was guarding was not the one the president had ridden to the airport in. I guarded it until a secret service agent came and drove it away.

In another jurisdiction, I provided security for a political activist. This activist had philosophical ideologies with which I vehemently disagreed; however, I was a professional. I protected this man from people who disagreed with him, and could possibly cause him harm.

I have provided security for referees at sporting events. Especially when there are close games or the referee made a call that was unpopular to much of the crowd, I walked them to their car parked in the parking lot to insure they got into their car safely and were not accosted by angry fans.

I can’t help but ask myself, what kind of society have we grown into?  The President of the United States needs more police to protect him than exist in some of the cities he visits.  People cannot verbalize their opinions no matter how obnoxious and distasteful they may be, without fearing personal harm.  Are we so imbedded in our sports that referees are in danger when they make an unpopular call?

As taxpayers can we support the increasing cost of security?  As civilized human beings can we continue to live in this type of society where many need so much personal protection? How as individuals can we turn our society around to a point where police do not constantly need to watch over our behaviors to keep VIPs safe?

Until later,

Sally S