MN court rules being a cop doesn't entitle you to cop a feel
Slow Motion Apocalypse
MN court rules being a cop doesn't entitle you to cop a feel
By Hart Van Denburg in Crime
Minneapolis police officer earned a scathing admonishment from the
Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday when it overturned a woman's
prostitution conviction because the officer fondled the woman's
breasts during a sting operation. Betsy Lou Burkland appealed her
conviction on that grounds that it violated her constitutional rights.
"When government conduct is sufficiently outrageous that it is
repugnant to the criminal justice system and shocking to a universal
sense of justice, it violates the constitutional right to due
process," wrote Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright. The officer was out of
line after he initiated "sexual contact by fondling the breasts of the
target of the investigation" allowed the situation to escalate "by
allowing the target to rub the officer's penis" and "inquired whether
a 'release' was included" in the $100 cost of his massage, she said.
You can read the entire ruling here.
http://www.mncourts.gov/opinions/coa/current/OPa081784-1124.pdf
Michael Snyder
Wait a minute -- I think this is misleading.
The cop didn't "cop a feel" during a raid -- it was while
posing as a client in a sting operation.
I still think that's wrong, but it is nothing at all like
what is implied. It isn't "shocking to a universal sense
of justice", for instance. It isn't treating the prostitute
as if she has no rights. It was expected behavior for a
client, and part of the (false) negotiating process.
I think he violated honor, but not that he violated her as
a human being, or violated her constitutional rights.