Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Now go away, or we will rape you a second time

Uh oh

New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas' tenure as police chief in Nashville is under scrutiny amid recent revelations that the police department there is reclassifying hundreds of sexual assault reports.

New Orleans Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas' tenure as police chief in Nashville is under scrutiny amid recent revelations that the police department there is reclassifying hundreds of sexual assault reports.


We highlighted some of these media reports a few weeks ago when this quote got our attention.
Some victims said rapes are difficult to report.

"I felt like I was raped a second time," said Lisa Baucom. "They stripped me of any right that I had."



Contrast the following statements.

Serpas:
Serpas rejected the notion that crimes had been systematically downgraded, telling the newspaper that the department classified cases that way for decades.

"In each and every year the MNPD routinely upgraded the 'matter of record' designation to reflect what continuing investigations determined; sex crime cases were no exception, and in every year new information led to cases originally labeled 'matter of record' to another, more appropriate classification," he told The Tennessean.


Rape victim explains what he means when he says that:
Lisa Baucom said hours of questioning from patrol officers and a detective, plus long waits at two hospitals made her question why anyone would report a rape.

"I spent hours just horrified retelling my story, and there was absolutely nothing that came of it," said Baucom.

She finally got so frustrated she left the hospital. Police classified her case as a "matter of record" -- not rape.

That means it didn't count in any crime statistic.

"There was a crime that happened that day," said Baucom, becoming emotional. "I know for a fact there was a crime that happened, and it's insulting to me that it's not counted, like my pain is not counted, like my hurt is not counted."

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