admin @ Wed, 2006-09-27 08:00
Lawyers for a former stripper sexually assaulted by two Philadelphia police officers have marshaled new evidence that the department missed chances to rein in the officers, meeting complaints about their misbehavior with indifference.
In one instance, the mother of a 15-year-old girl complained to police that Officers Timothy Carre and James Fallon had stopped and leered at her daughter and tried to lure her into their patrol car.
But, she said, a "rude and arrogant" officer who answered her call cut her off, demanding, " 'What's your point?' " Discouraged, she did not pursue the matter.
Two months later, in December 2002, the officers stopped the dancer and sexually assaulted her in the back of their squad car. This victim, too, was met with skepticism, at least at first.
Documents filed in federal court last week show that the victim reported the assault to a police officer within an hour of the attack, but the disbelieving officer drove away and never filed a report.
After Soth's rebuff, the woman went home and called police to again report the assault. That triggered an investigation that led to Fallon's and Carre's firing, and conviction on sex-assault charges.
As The Inquirer reported last month in a story detailing a series of allegations against the two officers, sexual misconduct by police is more prevalent than the public realizes - and often goes unchecked because victims are greeted with suspicion.
In a lawsuit, the woman contends that the assault was the "logical consequence" of the department's lax supervision and tolerance of sexual misconduct.
A department spokesman declined to comment yesterday. In court filings, city lawyers say the swift action against Fallon and Carre shows the department has no tolerance for officers who betray their badges. They deny there is any pattern of sexual misconduct, calling such cases "extraordinarily rare."
In documents filed last week, culled from the city's case files, the ex-dancer's lawyers tried to buttress their argument that the department too often ignored charges of sexual misconduct in the ranks.
In an interview with police investigators, Soth said he doubted the woman because "she didn't appear upset. No emotion." Soth could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The mother of the teenager later filed a complaint saying the response was so hostile that she dropped the matter "because of the treatment received."
An anonymous letter sent to Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson leveled sex-related accusations against the sergeant who supervised Fallon and Carre. But an Internal Affairs investigation of the sergeant dragged on for four years, and he remained in charge of Fallon and Carre in the months leading up to the 2002 assault.
Two were apparently known to the department before the assault: the complaint involving the teenager, and a woman's allegation that Fallon followed her home while on duty. That allegation was never forwarded to Internal Affairs, The Inquirer reported last month.
In depositions for the lawsuit, Carre has described his former partner Fallon as always on the prowl for women while on duty. Carre said he had repeatedly warned his bosses in the 15th District about Fallon.
"He brags that he always used his position to obtain sexual and other favors," the letter contended. A copy was made public in last week's filing.
Internal Affairs rejected the allegation that Lamond had used his badge to extort sex, but found that he had had an affair with a former prostitute who was a phone-sex worker.
Internal Affairs found that Lamond violated a department ban on "associating with a known criminal." In an interview yesterday, Lamond said the department disciplined him, but he wouldn't say what the penalty was.
In an affidavit filed in the lawsuit, Johnson said he was unaware of any sexual-misconduct complaints against any police in the 15th District before Fallon's and Carre's arrests.
As for the anonymous letters sent to him about Lamond, Johnson said that he never saw them. He told the former dancer's lawyer, Thomas R. Kline, that his staff sent them directly to Internal Affairs.
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