Post by WaTcHeR on Nov 14, 2006 13:55:26 GMT -5
11.14.2006 - A Portland police officer pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of official misconduct for asking two women to show him their underwear during a traffic stop in July.
In a plea bargain, John Alexander Wood, 31, agreed to resign, have his police certification revoked immediately and face two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.
Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer said in a news conference that she was disturbed to learn of the allegations and praised the complaint and review system that acted swiftly to investigate.
The two women reported the incident to police July 26, five days after it happened. Police encouraged the women to file a complaint with the Independent Police Review Division. After the women did so, detectives began a separate investigation and Wood was placed on paid administrative leave. Wood was hired as a Portland police officer in January 2003 and was working as a district patrol officer at the time of the incident.
In the course of investigation, detectives contacted a third woman who also said that Wood asked her repeatedly to show him a tattoo on her groin.
"Community members should be able to trust sworn police officers," Sizer said. "It is my hope that the community will view this as the isolated case it was."
The Oregonian is not naming the two victims.
In a hearing Monday afternoon before Multnomah County Circuit Judge Jean Kerr Maurer, one of the women, who is from Spokane and in her early 20s, spoke of how the traffic stop plagues her every day.
"I have trouble sleeping, and I am still unable to drive at night alone," the woman said, reading from a prepared statement. "Every time I see a law enforcement official, I feel as though I can't breathe and I start to feel nauseous."
Wood wrote letters of apology to the two women, who read them after the hearing, said their attorney, John Allison.
www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/116347834362620.xml&coll=7
In a plea bargain, John Alexander Wood, 31, agreed to resign, have his police certification revoked immediately and face two years of probation and 100 hours of community service.
Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer said in a news conference that she was disturbed to learn of the allegations and praised the complaint and review system that acted swiftly to investigate.
The two women reported the incident to police July 26, five days after it happened. Police encouraged the women to file a complaint with the Independent Police Review Division. After the women did so, detectives began a separate investigation and Wood was placed on paid administrative leave. Wood was hired as a Portland police officer in January 2003 and was working as a district patrol officer at the time of the incident.
In the course of investigation, detectives contacted a third woman who also said that Wood asked her repeatedly to show him a tattoo on her groin.
"Community members should be able to trust sworn police officers," Sizer said. "It is my hope that the community will view this as the isolated case it was."
The Oregonian is not naming the two victims.
In a hearing Monday afternoon before Multnomah County Circuit Judge Jean Kerr Maurer, one of the women, who is from Spokane and in her early 20s, spoke of how the traffic stop plagues her every day.
"I have trouble sleeping, and I am still unable to drive at night alone," the woman said, reading from a prepared statement. "Every time I see a law enforcement official, I feel as though I can't breathe and I start to feel nauseous."
Wood wrote letters of apology to the two women, who read them after the hearing, said their attorney, John Allison.
www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/116347834362620.xml&coll=7