Police departments sued by sexual assault victims; rape kits going untested for years
10/07/2016 / By Mary Wilder
Police departments all over the United States have been in the news a lot recently, and not for any flattering reasons. Between the numerous instances of police brutality and the questionable killings of dozens of people across the country, the recent actions of law enforcement officials have led many civilians to keep a watchful eye on those carrying the badge. Now, news has broken that is sure to make even the most determined of police defenders reconsider their position that cops can do no wrong.
It was recently reported that thousands of rape kits in Oregon have gone untested for reasons undisclosed to the general public. This means that people who have suffered such traumatic events, and who actually manage to get checked out in hopes of finding incriminating DNA to bring their attacker to justice, could potentially be going through all this anguish for nothing.
This news couldn’t be any more devastating.
Even after testing 1,400 rape kits, there are still nearly 5,000 that have not been tested. And that’s in Oregon alone. States across the country have similar situations that have left victims of such reprehensible crimes feeling even more helpless and with very little hope that their attacker(s) will ever be caught and convicted.
Chris Holmstrom of KOIN 6 reports that victim advocate Brenda Tracy stated, “It’s a crime probably. It could be for murder, robbery or something else. For some reason this person’s DNA is in the database, probably not for any good reason.” She’s absolutely correct there. There’s no reason that this should be acceptable on the part of the police force. Throwing legitimate evidence to the side without substantial reason is completely unjustified and a slap in the face to all of those that go through the trauma of undergoing a rape kit.
These kinds of actions are why so many people across the world – and especially in the United States – no longer trust police officers. We have seen far too much abuse of power and far too little justice to feel adequately protected by the powers that be. This is precisely why the Second Amendment is so important to us libertarians and conservatives. We recognize that those who are are supposed to keep us safe have been doing nothing of the sort, and that if we want to ensure the safety of ourselves and our loved ones, we are going to have to do it ourselves.
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