CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST
OAKLAND
OFFICER DISMISSED
Carroll, Burdick &
McDonough partner Mike Rains recently obtained a dismissal of felony and
misdemeanor criminal charges against an Oakland police officer who was
charged with sexual misconduct with a juvenile prostitute.
The officer in question
had stopped a young woman on a street in Oakland where there is a high
level of prostitution activity. She was waiving at cars as they drove
by.
The officer asked her
for identification. She said she had none.
The officer asked for her
name and date of birth so he could "run" her for warrants. She
gave him a fake name and a fake date of birth, indicating that she was
18 years of age.
The officer then arrested
her for a violation of Oakland Municipal Code. While en route to the
jail with her, she pleaded with him to let her go, promising him in
return the name and location of a drug dealer she had seen with a large
amount of cocaine. She also explained that she was "tricking"
with another friend with whom she was staying at a local motel.
The officer instructed
the woman to get a hold of him after she got out of jail and told her he
would try to help her with her arrest if she would lead him to the
cocaine dealer.
When the woman was
released from jail later the same morning, she contacted the officer.
She declined the officer's invitation to go to the location of the
cocaine dealer in a police vehicle, but instead insisted that they be in
a "civilian car" and that he not be in uniform.
The officer, having
completed his shift at that time, changed out of his uniform and gave
the woman a ride in his private automobile to look for the cocaine
dealer. Failing to locate the cocaine dealer, he took the woman to a
motel and helped her check-in when she insisted that she was to meet her
girlfriend at this particular motel later the same day. The officer then
left and had no further contact with the woman.
Several weeks later the
Sacramento County Sheriff's Department notified the Oakland Police
Department that the girl had been picked up in connection with a pimping
and pandering investigation being conducted by that agency. During the
Sacramento County investigation, the girl had claimed to have been raped
by an Oakland officer after he had detained and arrested her.
Oakland Police Department
initiated a criminal and Internal Affairs investigation, which resulted
in the filing of charges of rape, unlawful sexual intercourse (the girl,
as it turned out was 16-years old), and lewd conduct with a minor more
than 10 years younger.
The police department fired
the officer, alleging that he had misused his authority to have sexual
intercourse with the underage prostitute whom he had detained and
arrested for a Municipal Ordinance violation only a few hours earlier.
When the case went to
preliminary hearing, it was assigned to a very experienced prosecutor in
a specialized sexual assault unit in the District Attorney's office. The
prosecutor called the victim as her only witness.
Although Rains had
previously been told by the District Attorney's office and Oakland
police investigators that the young victim was very sincere and
credible, and would be a "solid witness" against the officer,
that was not the case. She was caught in a series of half truths about
the night in question and about how and why she failed to report her
alleged intercourse with the Oakland officer until she was questioned
about other unrelated events by Sacramento Sheriff's detectives weeks
later.
She reluctantly admitted
to having lied to other officers of the Emeryville Police Department the
same evening the officers had contacted her, telling them that she was
18-years old. She also admitted lying to the jail staff at the Oakland
Police Department about other matters.
Most notably, the
16-year-old "victim" in language and demeanor, appeared much
older and much more savvy than her age would suggest. Indeed, the judge
hearing the preliminary hearing observed that she was "16 going on
35."
When the dust had cleared
following the preliminary hearing, and the parties had briefed some
issues requested by judge, the judge announced his decision - all
charges were dismissed. The judge found the victim to lack credibility,
given the extensive impeachment she had suffered on vital issues to the
case.
In light of the fact that
the judge did not believe the assertions made by the victim, all
charges, both misdemeanor and felony were ordered dismissed.
LDF Home Page | News
Article Index
