The GPD Sexual Assault Case: Gender Politics vs. Racial Identity Politics

The News and Report this morning reports regarding the decision by Simkins District Attorney Douglas Henderson to refrain from prosecuting on the matter of the alleged GPD sexual assault incident.

Let's examine some of the information in the article.  I will provide excerpts and analysis:

A written statement from District Attorney Doug Henderson said his office decided against bringing charges after reviewing the investigative report and the lab tests from the State Bureau of Investigation.

"Significant factors considered in arriving at this decision include the intoxication or impairment of the complainant, the delay in filing the complaint, the delay in seeking a medical examination, and the absence of supporting physical evidence," Henderson's statement said.

It was always questionable whether the allegations made could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  It had been strongly suspected that the complainant was intoxicated; and in fact, this was the supposed reason she was picked up by the police that fateful night-- to give her a ride home after a night of partying at a nightclub in the Four Seasons vicinity.

The delays in filing a complaint and in seeking medical examination also would be understandable if she were drunk.  We should remain mindful, however, that the GPD's delays with respect to investigating this situation after it was reported were glaring.   The reduction of this case to a "he-said/she-said", for various reasons, made it much more difficult to prosecute.

Remember that Henderson long ago promised that his office would have a determination in a matter of a couple of weeks.  It took much longer.  Why?

Henderson could not be reached for comment Friday, but the district attorney's statement said his decision does not mean his office believes the three on-duty police officers acted appropriately or that they abided by police department regulations. His office said those issues will be taken up by an administrative review within the Greensboro Police Department.

This incident occurred nearly five months ago.  The GPD has had ample opportunity to review this matter internally.  It is hoped that this situation is not dragged out further unnecessarily.

But let us consider the implications of Henderson's statement.  The female in this case-- the alleged victim, the accuser-- is reported to have been drunk to the extent that she received a ride home from on-duty police officers.  And she was an off-duty police officer.  Is it considered acceptable for off-duty GPD officers to exhibit public drunkenness to the extent that they require a ride home from fellow police officers?  I hope not, but with this police department, it is hard to know. 

In any event, Henderson's statement seems to place an obvious obligation upon Chief Bellamy to take serious disciplinary action against the female officer.  Whether that will happen is another matter entirely.  In the recent past, allegations of sexual assault and rape are treated politically according to a different standard than other crimes.  The operating premise is that women never lie when they make such allegations, that their allegations must be regarded as true.  Of course, that is a faulty premise, but that has been the state of our gender politics.

So Chief Bellamy has a huge problem on his hands.  Henderson's statement seems to create an obligation to take action against the female officer.  But the ground rules of gender politics is that she is the aggrieved victim, to be reflexively believed.  There is no easy way for Bellamy to resolve this quandary. 

This dilemma Bellamy faces is accentuated by the fact that any administrative determination he makes is not governed by the criminal standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt".  Instead, he merely needs to make a determination of greater-than-50%-probability in order to take disciplinary action against the male officer(s) or the female officer.

One theoretical outcome is that both the male officer(s) and the female officers could be seriously disciplined.  But for some reason, that seems unlikely.  Henderson discussed a lack of evidence against the male officers.  But one key factor is the issue of gender politics.  And another, of course, is racial identity group politics, which governs the city of Greensboro.

"I know that it will be handled correctly, whatever the next step is," Councilwoman Goldie Wells said. "I am sure that Chief Bellamy will handle it the right way."

City Councilman Robbie Perkins said: "I have full confidence that he'll make a decision that is fair, just and based on the procedures already in place at the police department. And that decision will be based on facts and evidence, not rumors and innuendo."

It is unclear how Wells knows that Bellamy will handle it the right way.  And it is unknown upon what basis Perkins expresses confidence in the Chief's decision.  Together, Wells and Perkins represent the Melderec con Simkins majority on the City Council.

At this point, we should be reminded of some details.  One of the accused male officers in this matter, Allen Wallace, was among the group of black officers reportedly assembled by Mitchell Johnson, Linda Miles and Joe Williams to hurl accusatory questions against former Chief David Wray at a meeting assembled during August of 2005.   And I have been told he also was one of the officers who initially disseminated allegations or concerns regarding the "black book". 

The black male officers are members of a group that has previously been protected politically in the city of Greensboro.  In view of this fact, it would be remarkable if Bellamy were to take serious disciplinary action against them, particularly in view of Henderson's statement regarding a lack of  evidence.

This is not the only time we are seeing a tension between gender politics and racial politics.  In fact, the Democratic presidential primaries are a prime example of this phenomenon.  And it appears that, at the national level, gender politics will not prevail.

If I had to make a prediction at the local level in the GPD assault case, I would have to guess that gender politics will not prevail here either-- even though the three Simkins members of the City Council are female.  Racial politics might very well trump gender politics-- surprise, surprise-- in the city of Greensboro.  And Henderson's statement seems to  foreshadow that outcome.  But I am not sure, and we shall see in the long run.  I hope the City Council releases all possible documents on this matter to maintain public confidence. 

Finally, consider the following scenario-- that the female officer is severely disciplined, but the male officer(s) are not.  Again, the politics would seem to dictate that this outcome not be reached.

So it seems entirely possible that none of the officers will be disciplined in a serious way.  Again, we shall see. 

Mike Barber spoke strongly on this matter as quoted in today's article.  But unfortunately, for practical purposes in this case, he is a member of the minority. 

The citizens of Greensboro, however, should be extremely concerned if this matter is swept beneath the rug.

 

 

Comments

[Stormy]

One of the stated reasons for dismissing the case was that the female officer was intoxicated. So, in Greensboro is the new standard in trying sexual assault cases whether or not the assumed victim was intoxicated? Wouldn't it be proper to assume that a female that is intoxicated can not give consent? This case has established a dangerous precedent in this city regarding handling of sexual assault or rape cases. All the defendant needs to do is to claim that the victim was intoxicated. Mighty dangerous, indeed.

So, where is Julianne Malvaux now? She didn't think that the Duke Lacrosse 3 were innocent. Why isn't she organizing a protest march on GPD in this case? Isn't a GPD officer more credible than the "victim" in that case?

And, at a minimum, this case should be a case for sexual harassment. Without a doubt, it has created a hostile atmosphere within GPD. Can anyone imagine the female officer has been going through downtown for the past five months and in the future? If Mitch Johnson can manufacture a hostile overthrow of the David Wray Administration because of alleged racial harassment, then why not an overthrow of the Bellamy Administration for sexual harassment?

[Stormy]

It didn't seem important before, but now, what was the race of the female officer?

[Joe Guarino]

Stormy, I believe she may be black, based on some other online discussions elsewhere I have read. But I do not know with certainty.

And you raise some great points. Where is Ms. Malveaux on this issue? Shouldn't the presence of drunkenness imply the inability to give consent? And what does this mean as precedent if intoxication is used as a factor to undermine prosecution in sexual assault cases?

Great questions, Stormy.

[Stormy]

Is it just me, or does it seem that sexual harassment is rampant in city government? It seems that I recall that P&R had many such cases. I suppose that racial harassment is paramount over sexual harassment in this city. As I said, where are the defenders of women's social rights in this city?

[Roger Greene]

Mike Barber's comments are fully justified. The weaselly responses from the others are very predictable.

[Joe Guarino]

Yes, Roger, they are.

And Stormy, the defenders of women's rights are apparently taking a back seat.

[Ben Holder]

Joe,

Barbe should name the bad eggs. He should have listed the dirty cops. Were any of them investigated by Wray? Barber was part of the mob that attempted to end wrays professional life. For what? becuase he tried to clean up the bad eggs! Barber is a clown and should wear a big red nose.

http://thetroublemaker.blogspot.com/2008/05/open-letter-to-mike-barber-state-of.html

[Joe Guarino]

Ben, thanks for providing the link. I am in the process of doing another post today which incorporates some of your information. I share some of your concerns about Barber. While we have seen some good quotes from him, he has sometimes seemed to play both sides of a question when push comes to shove.

With Mike Barber, I think we need to pay attention to what he does-- not just what he says.

[Bill Knight]

Iron discipline appears in short supply at GPD. The long standing tradition of exemplary command structure, tough discipline, and intolerance for misbehavior and unprofessional conduct may be gone.

It will be interesting to learn what the latest police department outside review has to say about GPD. Hopefully the report will carry specific recommendations that can improve the GPD profile.

[Joe Guarino]

I agree, Bill. I wish there were reason to be optimistic in that regard.

[Stormy]

Is there any reason to believe that a compensated outside consultant will deliver an evaluation that is truly critical? As with RMA, you can beet your last dollar that Mitch Johnson told them what results he wanted, and that is what he will get.

I inquired about this consulting organization in Harrisonburg, and people in the know there knew nothing about them. They have no presence there and no one seems to even know what they do or who they are. I have little doubt that this will be just another RMA-type adventure that will cost taxpayers another $150,000 or so, with little of substance as a result.

[Joe Guarino]

Stormy, I hope the report does not turn out to be an invalid exercise. But the circumstances of its initial charge-- placed in the hands of Johnson and Bellamy instead of the Council handling it directly -- makes this outcome more likely.