Florida Deputy Charged With Sexual Assault
To highlight corruption in law enforcement today has almost
become a regular practice by the media and other activists campaigning for more
accountability to be placed upon police officers for committing crimes either
on or off-duty. Though many police officers do not welcome such exposure of
fellow officers being caught committing immoral and unethical acts, there is an
appropriateness to it.
With that in mind, shifting my focus to a story found on
CNN, I have decided today to blog and reflect upon a Florida Deputy. Deputy,
rather former deputy, Evan Cramer, was arrested for committing sexual assault
on a woman while on duty. The sad realization to this particular deputy’s
incident is that he used the leverage that the victim had an outstanding
warrant out for her arrest. Upon learning that she was wanted, Cramer placed
the woman in his patrol car and drove two miles to an empty parking lot, which
is where the sexual act took place. The woman finally arrived home at 2 a.m.,
yet she waited until much later in the day to report the misconduct of the
officer.
Appropriately, at the bond hearing, Evan Cramer was given an
$850,000 bond by the judge. To those who know how the system of bail bonds
work, Cramer will have to post at least ten percent of the bond, which amounts
to $85,000. Cramer even asked for a public defender for his case after pleading
not guilty to the charges. The victim in this particular case even further
elaborated on the deputy’s conduct by stating that he spoke as if he had
committed such acts before with other females.
Incidents such as this destroy the trust of law enforcement
officers from the community. Especially in today’s society, when citizens have
a propensity to be litigious and demonstrate their disdain for law enforcement
agencies by protesting, this incident only further damages the image of police
officers across the nation.
I am not one to condemn fellow police officers or cast doubt
upon the badge. I take great pride in my service to my community, as well as my
service to my country. However, officers such as Evan Cramer are responsible
for the degradation of the image, perception, and trust that the citizens of
this country have for law enforcement officers. This type of behavior not only
brings to mind questions about the severity of criminal charges; It also
creates, at least in a reasonable person’s mind, the doubt of how ethics are
reinforced in a law enforcement agency.
Clearly this violation is direct disregard for the Police Officer
Code of Ethics and the ethics policy of the department he was working for. It
also brings to mind the further pondering of, “What was he thinking?”
What makes police officers such as Evan Cramer commit such
atrocious acts while hiding behind the authority that the badge gives them?
What makes police officers completely disregard their ethical and moral
obligation to the community and their profession? Would it be appropriate for
the court that is trying this case to consider any mitigating circumstances
such as what may be happening in Evan Cramer’s life?
Essentially, there is no excuse for such egregious acts
being committed by police officers. We, as ambassadors of the law, have a duty and
obligation to hold ourselves to a higher standard while performing our duties.
We have an obligation to ensure that we do not commit any acts that are direct
violations of the ethical implications that being a police officer carries with
it.
Evan Cramer should be held accountable for his actions and
charged with the highest criminal offense that is appropriate to the
allegations brought upon him. Perhaps even more disturbing is that he committed
this act while wearing the uniform, may have committed the act in the past, and
believed in his mind that committing such acts was appropriate.
Food for thought: Should law enforcement agencies work
toward designing some type of vetting program that will give an indication as
to the ethical standard that candidates hold themselves to?
Let me know what you think in the comments section about
this post. Like, share, and comment.
Hmmmm. Question though. What more can you do other than a thorough background, polygraph, and cameras in the car? Two cops per car?
ReplyDeleteThe one upside of this incident is, if the allegations are true, the system is working as the deputy has been arraigned.
When in the academy, an instructor put up a slide of newspaper article headlined something like, "Cop arrested for domestic violence." He then told us: "From this day forward, if YOU do something wrong, the newspaper headline will start with the word COP. It will make the rest of us look like sh*t. So, DON'T screw up." I've remembered that ever since. Good words to live by.
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