Post by WaTcHeR on Aug 28, 2006 11:19:12 GMT -5
08.28.2006 - It was late at night at a well-traveled intersection when the Scranton woman driving home to her husband and child was pulled over.
She likely didn’t think twice when she saw the blue and red police lights behind her. She had a broken tail light and figured she’d get a ticket. But she didn’t expect Officer Chris Davis to ask personal questions about her marriage.
When he pulled her over again near the same intersection later that week, she was worried. But he was a uniformed officer, so she thought she could trust him.
That time, Officer Davis made her get out of the car and allegedly slid his hands under her shirt and down her thighs. When she began to cry, he told her to calm down and get back into her vehicle.
It was one of several incidents Officer Davis has been charged in, starting with his initial arrest in June for incidents involving two different women. He’s been suspended without pay from the Scranton Police Department. Since June, the woman whose allegations were described above and another woman have reported being victimized by him. He faces trial on numerous charges, including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and official oppression.
The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of alleged sexual assault.
All of the women allegedly victimized by Officer Davis said they felt like his initial behavior was odd or his requests strange. But it’s not illogical that they would do what the officer said, experts agree.
“We teach our children to respect law enforcement, that they are here to help,” said Gary H. Shoener, an assistant professor in Lackawanna College’s criminal justice program and a former state trooper.
So what do you do if you think an officer is behaving strangely or that you might be victimized during a traffic stop?
When people are trained to be officers, they’re taught that there’s a series of steps they should follow at the beginning of the stop, Mr. Shoener said. After they approach the car, they should identify themselves and ask for the driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance. They should also tell the driver why they were pulled over.
It’s OK to ask for the officer’s name and badge number if you feel uncomfortable, and it’s also OK to ask for the name of the officer’s supervisor or chief, said Sgt. Rick Groff, who teaches some of Penn State’s deputy sheriff basic training courses.
It’s also acceptable in most cases to ask that an officer follow you to a better lit or more populated area if you’ve been stopped on a rural or secluded road.
Opinions among local officers are split as to whether you should stop first and ask to move elsewhere. Scranton police Lt. Glenn Thomas said he sees no problem in simply driving to a nearby convenience store or better-lit street before stopping. He cautioned drivers to make sure not to speed or break any laws while doing so.
But Trooper Bill Satkowski said some officers may be alarmed if drivers do that, and suggested people stop and crack the window to tell police they wish to move to a safer place.
“Most police officers will understand if a woman in the car alone wanted to drive to a better lit area,” he said. “But it’s best to ask, so the officer isn’t taken by surprise.”
The officer can ask the driver questions about how much the driver has had to drink or where the driver might be coming from if he or she suspects the person is driving drunk. But if you believe the officer’s questions cross the line, you can decline to answer them, Sgt. Groff said.
“At some point, the red flags will go up,” he said. “It’s OK to tell the officer you’re uncomfortable. You’re not obligated to answer an officer if he or she asks if you’re married or dating anyone, for instance.”
Charges not uncommon
The allegations against Officer Davis is a situation repeated across the country, from New York to Illinois.
Pennsylvania is no stranger to such allegations, either. Two former Philadelphia police officers, James Fallon and Timothy Carre, were convicted of sex crimes in a 2002 attack against a stripper, but the two faced a string of allegations from women who said they were also victimized by the two cops. Darryl Allen, a municipal police officer in New Britain, Bucks County, pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a woman he had pulled over in 2005. Other women accused him of sexual misconduct while he was on the job.
Samuel Walker, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, has studied and written papers about the incidents reported throughout the country. The research grew out of his study of racial profiling. He blames the problem on several different issues, the largest being that women are unlikely to come forward after being victimized by an officer.
“So many times, the victims are legally vulnerable,” Dr. Walker said. “They were driving drunk or they were involved in prostitution.”
The fact that the woman who was stopped numerous times didn’t report her experiences until two other women came forward is also fairly typical, Dr. Walker said. That’s partly because many victims don’t believe police departments will take the complaints seriously.
“There is a perception that if someone tells Officer B what Officer A did to them, it’ll get ignored,” Mr. Shoener said. “But that’s not true anymore. Departments are looking at complaints like that very closely.”
www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17118341&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=41
She likely didn’t think twice when she saw the blue and red police lights behind her. She had a broken tail light and figured she’d get a ticket. But she didn’t expect Officer Chris Davis to ask personal questions about her marriage.
When he pulled her over again near the same intersection later that week, she was worried. But he was a uniformed officer, so she thought she could trust him.
That time, Officer Davis made her get out of the car and allegedly slid his hands under her shirt and down her thighs. When she began to cry, he told her to calm down and get back into her vehicle.
It was one of several incidents Officer Davis has been charged in, starting with his initial arrest in June for incidents involving two different women. He’s been suspended without pay from the Scranton Police Department. Since June, the woman whose allegations were described above and another woman have reported being victimized by him. He faces trial on numerous charges, including involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, indecent assault and official oppression.
The Times-Tribune does not identify victims of alleged sexual assault.
All of the women allegedly victimized by Officer Davis said they felt like his initial behavior was odd or his requests strange. But it’s not illogical that they would do what the officer said, experts agree.
“We teach our children to respect law enforcement, that they are here to help,” said Gary H. Shoener, an assistant professor in Lackawanna College’s criminal justice program and a former state trooper.
So what do you do if you think an officer is behaving strangely or that you might be victimized during a traffic stop?
When people are trained to be officers, they’re taught that there’s a series of steps they should follow at the beginning of the stop, Mr. Shoener said. After they approach the car, they should identify themselves and ask for the driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance. They should also tell the driver why they were pulled over.
It’s OK to ask for the officer’s name and badge number if you feel uncomfortable, and it’s also OK to ask for the name of the officer’s supervisor or chief, said Sgt. Rick Groff, who teaches some of Penn State’s deputy sheriff basic training courses.
It’s also acceptable in most cases to ask that an officer follow you to a better lit or more populated area if you’ve been stopped on a rural or secluded road.
Opinions among local officers are split as to whether you should stop first and ask to move elsewhere. Scranton police Lt. Glenn Thomas said he sees no problem in simply driving to a nearby convenience store or better-lit street before stopping. He cautioned drivers to make sure not to speed or break any laws while doing so.
But Trooper Bill Satkowski said some officers may be alarmed if drivers do that, and suggested people stop and crack the window to tell police they wish to move to a safer place.
“Most police officers will understand if a woman in the car alone wanted to drive to a better lit area,” he said. “But it’s best to ask, so the officer isn’t taken by surprise.”
The officer can ask the driver questions about how much the driver has had to drink or where the driver might be coming from if he or she suspects the person is driving drunk. But if you believe the officer’s questions cross the line, you can decline to answer them, Sgt. Groff said.
“At some point, the red flags will go up,” he said. “It’s OK to tell the officer you’re uncomfortable. You’re not obligated to answer an officer if he or she asks if you’re married or dating anyone, for instance.”
Charges not uncommon
The allegations against Officer Davis is a situation repeated across the country, from New York to Illinois.
Pennsylvania is no stranger to such allegations, either. Two former Philadelphia police officers, James Fallon and Timothy Carre, were convicted of sex crimes in a 2002 attack against a stripper, but the two faced a string of allegations from women who said they were also victimized by the two cops. Darryl Allen, a municipal police officer in New Britain, Bucks County, pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting a woman he had pulled over in 2005. Other women accused him of sexual misconduct while he was on the job.
Samuel Walker, a criminal justice professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, has studied and written papers about the incidents reported throughout the country. The research grew out of his study of racial profiling. He blames the problem on several different issues, the largest being that women are unlikely to come forward after being victimized by an officer.
“So many times, the victims are legally vulnerable,” Dr. Walker said. “They were driving drunk or they were involved in prostitution.”
The fact that the woman who was stopped numerous times didn’t report her experiences until two other women came forward is also fairly typical, Dr. Walker said. That’s partly because many victims don’t believe police departments will take the complaints seriously.
“There is a perception that if someone tells Officer B what Officer A did to them, it’ll get ignored,” Mr. Shoener said. “But that’s not true anymore. Departments are looking at complaints like that very closely.”
www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17118341&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=41
