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inappropriate behavior

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Dusty

Guest
I am concerned about inappropriate behavior exhibited by members of the law enforcement community. A while back I reported a reckless driver that almost collided with my wife and myself. When I reported it to the authorites I was insulted, shoved around, threatened with arrest, and to top it off the reporting officer used vulgar language in the presence of my wife. I contacted his sgt., and he told me if I don't like how I'm treated in <this town>, then "don't come back". I live 20 miles away and the town is the county seat, in which I do some business in. I was not very happy so I complained to both the chief of police and the town mayor. Yet nothing has been done. I asked the chief why and he told me it's none of my business. Now when I am in this "town" (population less than 2,000), I will see them parked across the street, watching my truck. If I am getting fuel at a gas station, they drive by slowly, leering at me. I discussed this problem with the sheriff's department, and they said nothing can be done. I discussed it with local residents I know, and they tell me that behavior is typical for that particular department, and that I'm lucky they havn't gotten physical with me yet. In one instance I was warned by a lady I go to church with that my wife might be in danger. She informed me that the reporting officer has been "known" to make unwelcome sexual advances on women.

I'm really confused. All I was doing was reporting a reckless driver, and now all of this is coming out. I ain't no kind of a criminal, and I ain't never been arrested. I have concern for my wife's safety after what I heard (regardless of it's "validity"), and I cannot seem to get any answers from the authorites or any local lawyers. My question is this- what am I to do if that officer makes a move on my wife? All I'm told is "make a complaint". A complaint? Sheesh! I already made a complaint about him behaving like he did, and it caused a lot of trouble. Ironic as it may seem, I looked up the laws in this state, and found that if I caught a man sexually assailing my wife, I can use deadly force to stop it if neccesary. But if it's a cop sexually assailing my wife, all I can do is make a report. I risk getting arrested for assault on a police officer if I get physical. This I fail to understand. Does a badge give criminals more rights? What are my wife's rights? What are my rights?
 


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Dusty

Guest
BTW, in what I said in the previous post, I am not making any threats. These are merely examples of the laws concerning this problem, and how I feel about it. I am not a violent sort of person, and don't intend on hurting anyone. So please do not take what I said and asked out of context.
 
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ootc

Guest
Without knowing what state you're in, I can only post from personal experience in mine. I am a law enforcement officer, and I am very familiar with legal ethical questions regarding law enforcement. The behavior that you described is not at all ethical and, in professionally run departments, would not be tolerated.

The badge does not give anyone more rights than anyone else. It confers upon the bearer certain responsibilities and allows him to operate within a strict set of laws and guidelines in order to carry out his job.

If you can not get satisfaction through your attempts at dealing with the supervisors and administrators of the police department, most department heads are hired by the city managers and/or city councils of that community. You might try there. Given the circumstances you describe, however, it is entirely likely that this is not the first such incident, and, as such, would not come as a surprise to the city government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is the government body which investigates violations of civil rights by law enforcement officials. If this scenario is accurate, it might be adviseable to contact them.
 

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