Police Aren’t as Trustworthy as we Thought
Police are given too much power. There have been many cases where officers commit crimes and use their badge as an excuse or use it to create fear. The people that are sworn to protect us have let a lot of us down.
Police Cases
Officer Bradley Stewart Wagner. According to cnn10.com, Bradley raped a woman in a parking lot on a night in California. She was getting followed by the officer after she had filled up on gas. He pulled her over and asked for a license and registration but as an undocumented immigrant, she didn’t have them. Officer Bradley told her that he can take her to go get deported. She begged him to let her stay and that she had four kids at home waiting for her. In response, he took the woman over to another parking lot and asked if she had any drugs of any sort on her. She told him that she didn’t but he proceeded to touch her breasts and put his fingers through the zipper of her pants to “search” for drugs while the poor woman was shaking uncontrollably. Officer Bradley took her into his police van and forced her into the backseat where he put the woman’s arms in the position to get handcuffed and she for sure thought that she was going to be arrested and put in jail. Instead, he told her “You sexo for me, no problema.” He then raped the woman and once she escaped from him, he stood outside her car masturbating. Then, he told her that she will have to continue to have sex with him “forever” at the same place. She leaves the scene, traumatized and sick. She drives aimlessly to her house and her kids find her vomiting in a bush around 3 am.
Officer Joseph Hunt. According to an article on twincities.com, this man sexually abused his adopted son (Chad Hunt) for eight years. Chad said that he would sexually abuse him five times a day. Chad could only escape this for three months every summer when he would go live with his grandmother. Chad said, “By my estimation, I was molested 1,480,” He also called Joseph a coward and a fraud for hiding behind the badge. Before the judge gave Joseph his sentence she said,” 1,480 times…that kind of takes your breath away,” and I could not agree more. Chad’s memories are haunting him. But at least Joseph got the jail time he deserved (3.4 years) but is it justice for Chad if Joseph was getting more than 2 million dollars while in jail? Because of the retirement benefits he gets, he’s getting around 30% more than the median family got in 2020. In 2020 the median family got $67,521 which was a 2.9 percent decrease to 2019. The median income for 2019 was $69,560, according to census.gov. If the same amount of income was earned in 2020 the years he was in prison, it wouldn’t come close to what his income was in prison. The amount of income that the median family would’ve earned in that time would be around $229,571.
Deputy Richard Rodriguez. He was accused of using his badge to force a bunch of prostitutes into his patrol car and use them in inappropriate ways. Richard was charged with five felony counts of false imprisonment, three misdemeanor counts of sexual battery, and one misdemeanor count of engaging in acts of prostitution. Throughout 15 months, Richard was picking up and telling these women that he had to “run” them in the system to confirm their identity while he was in uniform. Instead of doing what he said he would, he took the women to a secluded industrial area where he groped them and told them to strip. He took photos of the women while they were naked and in suggestive positions. Richard also handcuffed three of the women. Richard was sentenced to 16 months (1 year and 4 months) and in that time pocketed more than three million dollars because of his retirement benefits. Richard got almost 50% more than the median family did in 2020.
Reflection
These are just a few of the many cases of police using their badge for the purpose it should never be used for. Creating fear and committing crimes. The sad thing is that they can get away with it because of their badge. “Serve and protect” that’s their motto, that’s their job. But if they don’t serve and protect, why do they get their badges? If this is what a lot of the officers that are sworn to protect us are doing, I would not want them in my community. I have read and heard so many stories of police wronging people and not being held accountable for their actions. It’s really scary when you look at it all.
Even when these officers are arrested for what they do, they get retirement benefits. They can get millions while sitting in jail. Criminals should not be allowed to earn money because they are the ones that should be paying for their crimes.
