Introduction
The evidence suggests that the most numerous form of police sexual abuse occurs when a law enforcement officer enters into a quid pro quo sexual relationship during “normal” routine duties. The sexual events are, for the most part, opportunistic and not the trolling or hunting incidents found in serial sexual predators , although pretext stops are in play in that type also. Pretext stops are common in contemporary, proactive aggressive police actions described as zero tolerance , stop and frisk, and quality of life policing . They are also a common complaint in over policed minority communities. Supposedly, in a pretext stop the officer has reasonable suspicion to suspect a crime has occurred or about to be committed. However, police sexual predators misuse pretext stops to find victims and engage in discriminatory police action. This is true in police agencies outside the United States.
Pretext stops during proactive police strategies are a real concern in UK police agencies where their misuse has been called into question as discriminatory or abuse for sexual purposes. Beginning in July 2017, all police forces in England and Wales must begin publishing a yearly analysis of their stop and search statistics and provide an explanation for any disproportionality. This yearly analysis is no silver bullet cure for police sexual encounters or discriminatory stops and searches, but pretext stop reform as proposed by the UK is a move to a solution. Such actions could identify problem officers and rogue police departments where “We can settle this” quid pro quo sexual shakedowns without the use or threat of violence become common practice, such as our first Illustrative Example.
Irwindale, California—Sexual Shakedowns in a Rogue Police Department
The City of Irwindale, California , is one of 88 cities located in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County. In 2013, Irwindale’s 24-person police department was known as a rogue police department where “a sizable number, if not the majority, of the police officers engage in corrupt activities and other forms of misconduct, including police sexual abuse” (Barker 2011: 81). From 2013 to 2015, there were 14 internal investigations underway, and three police officers were on administrative leave for multiple sexual abuse allegations: sexually assaulting women during traffic stops—Type 3, and inappropriate sexual relations with Police Explorer Scouts, and sexually harassing a female police cadet—Type 10 (Favot, October 22, 2013).
Community members called for the City Council to disband the disgraced police department and contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for police services as was done in Maywood, California. Community action groups pointed to three patterns of police sexual abuse in the 2013—2015 time period—sexual shakedowns , sexual harassment , and police sexual abuse in police/community sponsored programs . Multiple patterns of police sexual abuse misconduct will not surface at the same time unless the police agency has a real ethical crisis (Barker 2011). The specific examples demonstrate the actions of a rogue police agency.
Sexual Shakedowns—Type 3
In March 2014, Irwindale PD Sergeant David Paul Fraijo , 36, was arrested and charged with five felony counts including kidnapping to commit another crime, forcible oral copulation , oral copulation under color of authority, sexual battery by restraint, and assault under color of law (Anonymous, March 12, 2014). The allegations arose from a traffic stop Sgt. Fraijo made on a female newspaper delivery person in the early morning hours on October 20, 2012. Sgt. Fraijo asked for her driver’s license. When she told him she didn’t have one, he ordered her to drive to a parking lot where he sexually assaulted her. He fondled the woman’s breasts and then forced her to touch, kiss, and orally copulate him. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and claimed consensual sex .
In January 2015, following plea bargain negotiations Fraijo pleaded no contest to one count each of oral copulation under color of authority and sexual battery by restraint (Anonymous, January 12, 2015). He was sentenced to 9 years in prison and to register as a sex offender for life. The city paid the victim $400,000 to settle her multi-million dollar civil suit.
Sexual Abuse in Police/Community Sponsored Programs—Type 10
Officer Daniel Camerano , 27, an eight-year IPD veteran and adviser to the department’s Police Explorer Program pleaded no contest to three felony counts: using a minor for sex acts, oral copulation of a person under 16 and contact with a minor for sexual offense (Anonymous, December 5, 2015). The charges related to sexual relationships with two teenage girls in the Explorer program. He had sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl between May 2009 and December 2012 and sent suggestive text messages to a 17-year-old girl in November 2012. He was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and to register as a sex offender for life.
A civil suit filed on behalf of the 14-year-old girl alleged that Camerano molested the girl during “ride-alongs “ where she and Camerano worked alone overnight in a patrol car. The suit alleged he molested the young girl in the station house “where other officers and supervisors knew or should have known” about the abuse—peer group support.
Sexual Harassment—Type 7
A police cadet who worked at the Irwindale Police Department for four years sued Lt. Mario Camacho for sexual harassment (Flories, January 3, 2013). The alleged victim began working at the department as a police cadet in 2008. Lt. Camacho began holding her hand, kissing her, and groping her while they were on duty in his office and in patrol cars. At first, she rebuffed his advances, but he began treating her “mean” and created a “hostile work environment.” When she relented, he promised her a permanent position and showered her with gifts. She alleged he lent her money and rented her a condo below market value. Lt. Camacho made her move out when her boyfriend moved into the condo. She resigned from the department and filed suit.
Multiple Police Departments: Matthew Leavitt—Sexual Shakedowns and Gypsy Cop Merry-Go-Round
Matthew Leavitt is the poster example of “passing the trash ” and its effects. Matthew Leavitt was a Rogue Police Officer and a Gypsy Cop; it was evident but ignored. On March 15, 2008, it was alleged in a civil suit that two Cedar Grove, West Virginia officers, Matthew Leavitt , and R. Curry, detained the plaintiffs without cause and then arrested a female and sexually assaulted her. Leavitt allegedly told the woman she would not have to go to jail if he had sex with her or she gave him oral sex. When she refused, she was taken to jail and again subjected to repeated sexual assaults. According to a timeline posted in the Charleston Gazette (Anonymous 2009), his background prior to this incident indicated the Cedar Grove PD or any police department should not have hired him—poor vetting. From November 2000 to June 2001, he was employed at the South Central Regional Jail. While working at the jail, he was arrested and fired for driving under the influence—June 25, 2001. Leavitt then joined the Army—December 2001 to December 2004. He was disciplined for drinking on duty in the Army. In spite of his firing from the jail and Army discipline, he was hired by the Cedar Grove PD in March 2005.
In April 2006, while a Cedar Grove officer, Leavitt was charged by the Charleston, West Virginia PD for assault during an off-duty bar fight. He left the Cedar Grove PD , reason not given, and was hired by the Madison, W.VA PD—Gypsy Cop. While at Madison PD, he was accused of harassing a woman, her boyfriend, and daughter after answering a call for service-June 13, 2006. Leavitt resigned August 2006 from the Madison PD and was hired by the Smithers W.VA PD—October 2006. One month later, November 6, 2006, the Mount Hope, W.VA PD, hired him. Eighteen days later, November 24, Leavitt left the Mount Hope PD and within five days—November 29—was hired by the Gauley Bridge W.VA PD. In January 2007, Leavitt was fired from the Gauley Bridge PD and hired in the same month by the Montgomery W.VA PD.
As a Montgomery PD officer, Leavitt was involved in at least three incidents involving excessive force and the use of racial epithets, one incident involved stopping a mixed-race couple and hitting the male on the head with a blackjack-a forbidden weapon-and spraying him in the eyes with pepper spray at close range. The victim’s wife was subjected to improper sexual touching, licking on the neck and saying “Little whore, you know you like it like that.” He was suspended for this incident and later fired. He was charged and convicted of federal law violations for this complaint.
It is difficult to comprehend the police work history of Matthew Leavitt , because he worked full-time at one department and part-time at another during the same time period, a common practice among small police departments in rural areas. However, it is clear that his behavior was erratic and involved repeated acts of sexual misconduct and brutality. He was a rogue police officer. The fragmented American system without national hiring and firing standards will always work against police sexual misconduct and other forms of police crime reforms.
The charges against his first victim when he was a Cedar Grove were dismissed, and she filed a civil suit against Leavitt and the department. On the second offense at Montgomery PD, Leavitt was sentenced to two years in prison after a guilty plea for using excessive force, intentional use of blackjack on a male suspect and unlawfully arresting his wife for DUI. They have filed a civil lawsuit against the city and the police department.
Delcambre, Louisiana Officer Ernest Billiot—Sexual Shakedowns & Gypsy Cop
The town of Delcambre and the city of Jeanerette in Louisiana are small municipalities. Jeanerette has a police department of 26 sworn officers, and Delcambre PD has 5 sworn officers, including the chief. Delcambre Police Officer Ernest Billiot worked for both police departments. He was fired from the Jeanerette PD in 2005 after 10 years service when the mayor asked an outside consultant to review the police department and its operation. The outside consultant pointed out that Lt. Billiot was not able to carry a gun because he had pled guilty to a simple assault charge in 1999 (Randal, November 15, 2008). He was fired.
Billiot filed suit against the city of Jeanerette, claiming he was fired for arresting the mayor’s grandson. He was hired by the Delcambre Police Department while the lawsuit was pending. According to court records, he stopped a female in the early morning hours as she drove through Delcambre on February 17, 2008. He told her he was taking her back to the police to administer a breath alcohol test—the department did not have a machine. At the station, he allegedly ordered the woman to undress for a strip search, while engaging in sexual comments. Billiot then drove the woman back to her car, kissed her, and asked for her phone number. She gave him a false number, which he wrote on his hand. He then let her go without charges.
The victim immediately called the state police and reported her sexual assault. Billiot was arrested and charged with sexual battery and kidnapping. He was fired immediately after a grand jury indicted him. He was convicted of second-degree kidnapping and sexual battery and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The victim sued Billiot, the police department, and the city, citing their indifference to his previous history as a contributing factor in her victimization. It is hard for a city or police department to defend against this charge when they knew, or should have known through a background check, not to hire a Gypsy Cop.
El Cajon, California William Robert Taylor
William Robert Taylor was a three-year veteran of the El Cajon Police Department when he was arrested for sexually abusing seven women. The women all gave vivid accounts of his perverted sexual behavior. He forced them to perform sex acts on themselves, undress for him, or let him fondle them while he made lewd sexual comments. One woman, whom he arrested for shoplifting, testified he had her undress and masturbate with his baton in the back seat of his patrol car (Huard, February 27, 2007). Her DNA was found on the tip of his baton. To add insult to injury, he stole two knives from the woman before turning her loose. He allegedly forced an 18-year-old woman to undress while he masturbated. He was investigating the theft of two scooters at the time. He was accused of fondling several other women he stopped or arrested.
At trial, Taylor was convicted of five charges, petty theft for taking two knives from the woman he arrested and forced to masturbate with his baton—he was acquitted of that charge, two counts of requesting or receiving a bribe, sexual penetration under color of authority and sexual battery. He was sentenced to five years in prison. He was certainly a serial sexual predator , but he was not included in the previous chapter because no physical violence was alleged in his perverse acts.
Wayne State University Gregory Gladden—Campus Police Sexual Shakedown
Gregory Gladden , a black 38-year-old Wayne State University police officer, pulled over a 22-year-old female on May 25, 2011. She was not a Wayne State University or employee. The events of that encounter are described in the court documents of his appeal from a 16–30 years sentence after his conviction for first-degree criminal sexual conduct (People v. Gregory Alan Gladden Wayne Circuit Court. LC No. 11-006508-FH).
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….On May 25, 2011, the victim was traveling in her car, turning from Trumbull onto Warren when she blew a tire after riding over the curb. She was driving on the rim when two separate police cars stopped her. Their lights were on, but the sirens were not activated. She thanked the officers for stopping and asked if one of the officers would follow her home, which was just a block away. Defendant [Gregory Gladden ] who was one of the officers offered to escort her home. Once the other officer left the scene, defendant asked if she had been drinking; he told her he could smell it on her breath. The victim admitted she had. The victim did not have her license and offered her passport. Defendant did not ask her to perform any field sobriety tests. Defendant asked her to turn off her vehicle and step out of the vehicle. “[H]e said he was going to take me to a holding cell, call his boss and see if he could get me a deal.” The victim was afraid an arrest record would “shatter my ability to pursue my career aspirations here in the city.” She shared these concerns with the defendant. She got into the back of his SUV and did not think she had any choice. Defendant identified himself as “Derrick” from the Detroit police. He had a gun and a badge.
Defendant drove around for a while and eventually went to Manoogian Hall [on Wayne State campus]. The victim had not been there before. Defendant told her he was looking for a holding cell. He used a swipe card to access the locked building. They took an elevator to the fourth floor where there was a lounge. They both sat down on a couch. Defendant ordered the victim to stand up saying “I need to check you for weapons.” The victim laughed and said, “I’m not even wearing any underwear.” She was wearing only a sundress and flip-flops. She explained that she was trying to keep it light. “I wanted to get out with the least amount of confrontation possible and no brutality.” The victim stood in a “T” position. Defendant ran his hands over her body and lingered at her breasts. The victim knew this was not a normal pat-down. Defendant told the victim he needed to remove her dress. Again, she did not feel like she had a choice and she complied. The victim was trying to figure out “what was going on.” She asked the defendant if he wanted to have sex with her. It was not an offer. Defendant said “no.” She asked if he wanted a “blow job” and he responded “yes,” the victim put her dress back on. She told defendant that her mouth was too dry. She walked over to the sink where she filled an Absopure water bottle with water. The victim asked defendant how she would know if he had any sexually transmitted diseases. He said he was disease-free. The victim told defendant “if I do this you won’t bring it up again.” Defendant “shook on it.” Defendant unzipped his pants and pulled out his penis. The victim put her mouth on it. “He held the back of my head, pushed it down, said choke on it b****.” After approximately 30 seconds, defendant ejaculated in the victim’s mouth. She spits the ejaculate into the water bottle. She stood up, capped the bottle, threw it away, and followed the defendant back to the SUV……
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The defendant drove the victim back to her car, and she drove off. She was afraid of being pulled over again, so she left her car in a parking lot and walked to a bar where she knew her best friend and her boyfriend were playing pool. Her friend convinced her to call the police. The police took her back to Manoogian Hall and the lounge to do a walkthrough of the assault. While they were there, Officer Gladden walked in, and the victim said: “Holy s****, that’s him.” Gladden was arrested and charged with the assault. Gregory Gladden’s appeal was unsuccessful and his sentences of 16–30 years for criminal sexual assault, 2–5 years for misconduct in office and 345 days for neglect of duty were affirmed. There is no evidence of known prior sexual assaults by this officer.
Immigration Officer Isaac R. Baichu—Sexual Shakedown by a Federal Police Officer
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS ) is one of the many federal agencies that came into existence to enforce mala prohibita laws passed by Congress. The Guardian reports that there are 55,000 law enforcement officers within the DHS , making it the largest police force in the world (Franco and Shah, November 19, 2015). Along with its creation, DHS opened up a new police misconduct opportunity structure for newly created law enforcement officers. This new opportunity structure includes police sexual abuse.
Allegations of sexual misconduct have plagued the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP )-agency within the DHS in recent years. Thirty-five incidents of CBP agents sexually assaulting women and children immigrant detainees were reported between 2012 and 2014 (Franco and Shah, November 19, 2015). Two incidents of coerced bribes—one money and the other sex—had been reported from the same Citizenship and Immigration Services Office in Garden City, New York.
A Columbian woman married to an American citizen recorded Isaac Baichu , an Adjudication Officer at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Garden City, New York, demanding sex in exchange for a green card. She gave in one time because he threatened to hold up her application and deport her relatives (AP , March 21, 2008). He was recorded—mobile phone hidden in a purse—saying, “I want sex. One or two times. That’s all. You get your green card. You won’t have to see me anymore.” Even though she was recording the conversation, she gave in to his request for oral sex. The victim told her story to The New York Times and called the Queen’s New York District Attorney’s office. She met with the officer again, this time prosecutors for the DA’s Queen’s office listened in and arrested Baichu.
In a note of irony, Baichu was an immigrant from Guyana, becoming a US citizen in 1991. He had been employed with DHS for three years and handled over 8000 green card applications. One can only speculate on the number of vulnerable victims he processed and coerced into sex. His victim was certainly vulnerable. She came to the United States in 2004 on a tourist visa and overstayed. When she married an American citizen in 2007, she was allowed to “adjust” her illegal status, but she needed a green card to visit relatives in Columbia and return. She faced deportation if her application for a green card was denied.
The former federal immigration officer pleaded guilty to coercing oral sex and was sentenced to 1½–4½ years in prison.
San Antonio, Texas—Multiple Officers Engaged in Sexual Shakedowns
In 2011, the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP), a non-profit community-based foundation, that “promotes racial, social, and economic justice through education and litigation” (TCRP 2011), published a report on Police Misconduct in San Antonio. There were four reports of on-duty sexual abuse cited in the report; three were directly related to sexual shakedowns .
SAPD Officer Craig Nash
Officer Craig Nash, a six-year veteran, allegedly picked up a transgender woman prostitute in February 2010, handcuffed her, put her in his patrol car, and drove her to a secluded area and forced her to perform oral sex on him (TCRP 2011). He also allegedly raped the victim. After his arrest, a man also reported that Nash had sexually assaulted him in the summer of 2008 (Anonymous, March 6, 2010). The transgender victim immediately reported it and Nash was arrested. Nash entered into a plea agreement where he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of official oppression and a one-year sentence. Prosecutors dropped the felony charge of sexual assault by a police officer that carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. Was the victim’s deviant status—transgender —a factor in the “light” treatment by the criminal justice system?
SAPD Officer Gregory Mickel
On June 26, 2009, SAPD Officer Gregory Mickel, a four-year veteran, made a traffic stop on a truck. The passenger in the truck was a 46-year-old psychiatric patient with two prior prostitution arrests. Mickel allegedly ordered her to sit in his patrol car and told the man to leave. Mickel told the woman he would arrest her again for prostitution unless she had sex with him. The complaint alleges that he drove to a secluded parking lot and had sex with her in the back seat of the patrol car. He let the woman out, and she called 911 and requested an ambulance and reported an SAPD officer had raped her. Mickel responded to the call and cancelled the ambulance. He tried to cancel all other responding officers by claiming that the victim had mental problems. Mickel admitted to having sex with the victim but said it was consensual. He was arrested and charged with felony sexual assault. He pleaded guilty to official oppression and violation of civil rights and gave up his Texas certification without jail time. Again, is this a pattern of “light” reaction and treatment?
SAPD Officer James McClure
In September 2008, SAPD Officer James McClure conducted a traffic stop of a female driver. According to published newspaper accounts, he noticed a bulge in her pants and called for a female officer to search her. No female officer was available. McClure allegedly took the woman to the rear of a building and ordered her to strip naked, which she did. He found a bag of marijuana in her pants, but he did not arrest her. He allegedly fondled the victim, gave her back the marijuana and let her go. He was indefinitely suspended, in effect fired.
Denver, CO. Officer Hector Paez—Chose the Wrong Victim
Officer Hector Paez , a four-year veteran of the Denver, Colorado Police Department stopped a woman, a heroin user with a lengthy rap sheet, on May 16, 2010. He ran a check on her and found an outstanding warrant—false reporting to a pawnbroker. Paez allegedly drove the woman to an isolated area and forced her to perform oral sex on him or go to jail. He miscalculated her vulnerability and reluctance of the victim to report her victimization. She reported him. Following an investigation by the Denver Police Department’s Internal affairs Bureau, he was arrested for second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault, and attempt to influence a public servant (Roberts, October 18, 2010). The latter charge came from lying to the Internal Affairs Bureau about the sexual assault.
At trial, Paez took the stand and testified about his encounter with the victim. He said he did pick her up and took her to a secluded location to get intelligence from her about narcotics sales. Choosing the secluded location and not taking her back to her car was done so she would not be seen talking to a police officer (Fender, October 14, 2012). His bizarre explanation did not impress the jury. Jurors asked if he had made any notes of his interview with the victim, and he was unable to produce any. The prosecutor asked why he had not given the narcotics detectives any of the information he had obtained. Paez, according to newspaper account, said he had been arrested and forbidden to go to police headquarters before he could report what he had found out. Paez was convicted of sexual assault and kidnapping and sentenced to eight years in prison followed by 10 years to life of sexual-offender probation.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD)
According to news accounts, IMPD Police Officer Anthony S. Smith , a 37-year-old officer, had been on the department for a little over a year when he made a foolish move. He allegedly stopped a 19-year-old female driver early in the morning of August 15, 2008. He discovered that the young driver had an outstanding warrant. Telling her, he did not want to put her in jail; he allegedly proposed a solution; and ride around with him for an hour. She agreed and was with him as he answered several calls. The frightened female called her boyfriend and told him what was happening and how scared she was. Then, Officer Smith allegedly told her he would take her to jail unless she had sex with him. When her “ride along” was over, the victim reported the incident. Smith, at first, denied the event, and then during questioning gave the standard defense saying the sex was consensual.
It was easy for the investigators to match up Smith’s path from the car’s GPS with the victim’s description of where they had traveled—technical supervisory assist. It was revealed that Smith kept condoms in the trunk of his patrol car—suggests inclination. He was fired and arrested and charged with rape, criminal deviate conduct, two counts of sexual misconduct , three counts of official misconduct, and two counts of intimidation.
Hamilton County Tennessee—Willie Greer—Lateral Hire of Known Sex Abuser
Willie Marshay Greer , a 33-year-old black male was a probationary deputy with three months on the job for the Hamilton County Tennessee Sheriff’s Department when he was arrested for allegedly raping a woman during a traffic stop (Berger, January 9, 2014). He was a lateral hire from the Chattanooga State Community College Campus Police when he came to the sheriff’s department. Two of the three examiners with the sheriff’s department recommended that he be hired, and he received glowing reviews from his references during the background check. One of his references, a lieutenant with the Forrest City, Arkansas Police Department had known him since he was a baby. He said Greer was a hardworking, dependable, restrained, and calm individual that he would hire immediately. Greer was hired and put to work as a road deputy working by himself. Then it all went bad.
January 5, 2014, just after 1 a.m. a 26-year-old woman said Deputy Greer stopped her speeding car and forced her to perform a sex act on him. She described the events of that night for investigators. After stopping her, the woman alleges he ran a background check on her and found open warrants and told her she was under arrest. Greer handcuffed her and told her “I could let you go, but you’d owe me.” When she replied that she did not know what he was talking about, he took the handcuffs off and told her to get in her car and follow him. She followed him to a secluded area where he pulled over. She stopped and got out of her car. Officer Greer put the handcuffs back on and seated her in his patrol car. She said he then pulled his penis from his pants, grabbed her by the back of the head, and forced her to perform oral sex (Anonymous, January 10, 2014). He then allegedly asked if she was thirsty and gave her a fruity drink in Wendy’s cup when she said she was.
The woman reported the sexual assault and investigators checked with Wendy’s in the area where the stop took place and found one where the employees said a black officer had ordered a fruit punch from the drive-thru earlier that evening. They brought Greer to the station, and the victim picked him out of a line-up. Greer admitted the sex act and claimed it was consensual. He was arrested and fired. Greer was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with civil rights violations “for sexually assaulting the victim, which violated her constitutional due process rights to bodily integrity, kidnapping, carrying a firearm during a sexual assault and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the crime (FBI , September 24, 2014).” He is awaiting trial.
LAPD Officer Russell Mecano
According to court documents, the strange saga of Los Angeles Police Officer Russell Mecano began on October 20, 2007 (The People v. Russell Mecano. Court of Appeals, Second District, California-B233401). Taylor P. an 18- or 19-year-old homeless girl was living on the streets of Santa Monica with her boyfriend Eric when a woman approached Eric and Taylor slapped her. Two officers were called to the scene, one of those officers was Russell Mecano , both Taylor and Eric were taken to the police station. Taylor was alone in the booking cell when Officer Mecano allegedly approached and told her he could get her released on her own recognizance, O. R’d, but she would owe him if he did. After she was booked, Mecano approached her out of view of his partner and began asking questions and making sexually suggestive remarks.
Eric was booked on warrants and Taylor was “O. R’d.” Officer Mecano went to the station’s ATM and withdrew $200 in $20. He gave the money to Taylor and allegedly told her to go to a nearby Holiday Inn, take a shower and wait for him to get off his shift. He is reported to have told her he would be “fucking pissed” if she burned him for the money.” He called a taxi and told the driver to take her to the Holiday Inn. When Taylor got in the taxi, she told the driver she was afraid of the policeman and told him to take her to the beach. He did. Mecano called the taxi company three times trying to find out where they took Taylor. Taylor approached two officers at the beach and told them what had happened. One, a Homeless Liaison Police Officer, told her to report the incident. Taylor did not report the incident until March 16, 2008.
Even though Officer Mecano’s alleged technique was not successful with Taylor P., he allegedly tried it again. On May 18, 2008, an 18-year-old girl, Alex, was at the Pacific Palisades Park with several of her friends. Some of the group smoked marijuana. At least one was arrested. Mecano allegedly pulled Alex off to one side and asked what was going on. She told him she had marijuana and a marijuana pipe in her purse. He left the marijuana and the pipe in her purse and took her driver’s license. He allegedly asked if she would hook up with him if he let her go; he then reportedly asked if she had money, and if she would get a motel room and wait for him to get off his shift. She said she would, but had no intentions of meeting up with him.
Mecano allegedly said he wanted to make sure she was for real and walked Alex toward a building and pushed her up against a wall. He allegedly kissed her and put his hands up her shirt and touched her breasts. Officer Mecano allegedly unzipped her pants and put two fingers in her vagina. Alex stopped him by saying they could do that later. According to published account, Mecano told Alex he would keep her driver’s license until they met later and asked for her cell phone number. Alex left without receiving a citation.
Once she left the scene, Alex called the 411 number of the Pasadena police and told them what had happened. Then, she called her mother and told her. While she was on the phone to her mother, Mecano called and left a voicemail. When she got home, they called the LAPD , and they sent detectives to her home, and the investigation began.
In March 2011, Russell Mecano went on trial for sexually assaulting Alex and soliciting sex from Taylor P. The jury, after four hours of deliberation found him guilty of one count of misdemeanor solicitation and one felony count each of sexual battery and penetration with a foreign object by a public safety official and penetration with a foreign object by force or duress. He was sentenced to 8½ years in prison and to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. The appeal of his sentence was denied.
Lexington, Kentucky Police Sergeant Robert D. Brown—Sad Ending for Police Hero
Sgt. Robert Dale Brown , a ten-year highly decorated, Medal of Valor, officer with no prior disciplinary action was charged with one count of first-degree misconduct and two counts of second-degree misconduct after allegations of receiving sexual favors from a woman he stopped on December 9, 2011 (Kocher, December 18, 2012). At first, the woman, who admitted to being high on Xanax when stopped, was quoted in a taped interview saying “I think he did try to take my pants off, but he didn’t touch me in any way.” Later at trial, and in a civil suit she claimed that Sgt. Brown stopped her and found a marijuana pipe in her possession and drove her to a secluded spot where “He started pulling my pants down. That’s when he lay me down in the back seat, and he raped me.” After the alleged rape, he dropped the woman off at her brother’s house without charging her with any offenses.
The forensic examination did not reveal any evidence of a sexual attack; however, communication records showed an hour and 3-minute lapse in time from when the stop occurred, and the alleged rape occurred. Sgt. Brown had no contact with dispatch during that time period. Further discrediting Sgt. Brown’s explanation, no contact in a secluded area, was a “geolocating” of messages and texts made by the victim while in the claimed “secluded” area. At trial, the jury found Brown guilty of all counts, and he was sentenced to unsupervised probation.
San Diego, California PD Daniel Dana—Consensual?
The day after San Diego Police Chief William Landsdowne held a news conference to publicly apologize for a spate—nine—of allegations of police misconduct Officer Daniel Dana was accused of kidnapping and raping a 34-year-old woman while on duty (Perry, May 25, 2011). Dana was accused of raping a prostitute. The woman claimed that she had been forced to have intercourse and “orally copulate” the officer in his patrol car to escape being arrested for prostitution. The defense claimed that the officer and the woman had developed a friendship and the encounter was consensual. The five-year veteran officer, who was married and expecting his first child, at first pleaded not guilty but took a plea deal. He pleaded “No Contest” to one count of misdemeanor act and was sentenced to three years probation.
UK
Northern Ireland Police Officer
A married Police Service of Northern Island constable allegedly had regular sex with a young female crime suspect after he arrested her (Hudson, September 1, 2018). She told another police officer of the affair and he reported it to the Office of the Police Ombudsmen. The investigation recovered hundreds of text messages and images
Avon and Somerset Police Officer—Domestic Violence Victim
A married police officer was dismissed for sending a picture of his penis to a domestic violence victim with whom he was having an affair (Matthews, March 21, 2017). The examining board found that the affair, although it may have been “consensual” was an abuse of his power and position. She was a vulnerable person and he knew that. Furthermore, he sent the lewd picture from a court restroom while he was on duty.
London Metropolitan Police Detective—Year Long Affair with Student
A married Met detective was charged with carrying on a 10-month affair with a 20-year-old student from Albania he arrested in 2015. They had sex in the women’s home, two hotels and the police station. At one tryst, they allegedly engaged in a threesome with another man at a spa. He pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office and guilty to appearing in court late drunk. He was sentenced to four months in prison (PoliceOracle.com, May 4, 2017).
Bedfordshire Police Detective—Blackmail
A Bedfordshire Police was dismissed and convicted of gross misconduct for attempting to blackmail a man for using a prostitute (Garrod, September 20, 2017). He wrote a letter to the man demanding money to stop him from telling his family, friends, and work colleagues of his visit to the prostitute.
Conclusion
The Illustrative Examples presented all fit the pattern of quid pro quo sexual shakedowns where an on-duty police officer with the inclination for sexual misconduct encounters a vulnerable victim with credibility problems—opportunity—under what is a real or perceived low-risk setting. Several of the I.E.’s indicate that the officers involved could be serial sexual predators , but the secondary data does not provide proof of physical violence and documented multiple victims. We once again see police agencies that fit the definition of rogue police departments —“rotten barrels” not “rotten apples.” We also see the tragic effects of hiring Gypsy Cops .