By Keith Eldridge
KOMO TV (Seattle, Washington, USA)
PIERCE COUNTY - The victim of an inappropriate police search says she's still fearful even though an officer has now been charged with the crime.
She's one of several women who say a Puyallup Tribal Police officer pulled them over and searched them sexually.
Sochanthy Mao says she was scared, but her fear didn't stop her from telling the police about the inappropriate police behavior last month.
"I just want to make sure this doesn't happen to anybody else," Mao's husband Dave Pet said. "That's why we decided to come forward and you guys (KOMO) were the first to get on this case."
It was Nov. 2 in the early morning hours along southbound I-5 near the Tacoma Dome. An unidentified police officer pulled Mao over and started the improper search.
"When he handcuffed her," Pet said, "He pointed his flashlight down her pants and touched her in an inappropriate way."
Mao says the officer didn't give her a ticket and just left. But not before she wrote down his license plate number that was traced to the Puyallup Tribal Police.
Officer Randy Howlett reportedly has admitted everything to Tacoma Police and is charged with unlawful imprisonment with sexual motivation. He’s due to be arraigned Dec. 21.
"There is a black eye on law enforcement and it was one of my guys," said Joe Duenas with Puyallup Tribal Police. "We will strive to make things better and continue to serve the public as best we can."
The police chief immediately placed Howlett on leave and he has since resigned. The patrol cars now have cameras on board to record what's going on.
According to the charging papers, there are only three victims right now, but the prosecutor believes there are many more victims who at this point are just too afraid to come forward.
Even with the arrest, Mao is still afraid of police. She just moved her from Cambodia to get away from police oppression only to have this happen in a country she trusted to be safe.
She's one of several women who say a Puyallup Tribal Police officer pulled them over and searched them sexually.
Sochanthy Mao says she was scared, but her fear didn't stop her from telling the police about the inappropriate police behavior last month.
"I just want to make sure this doesn't happen to anybody else," Mao's husband Dave Pet said. "That's why we decided to come forward and you guys (KOMO) were the first to get on this case."
It was Nov. 2 in the early morning hours along southbound I-5 near the Tacoma Dome. An unidentified police officer pulled Mao over and started the improper search.
"When he handcuffed her," Pet said, "He pointed his flashlight down her pants and touched her in an inappropriate way."
Mao says the officer didn't give her a ticket and just left. But not before she wrote down his license plate number that was traced to the Puyallup Tribal Police.
Officer Randy Howlett reportedly has admitted everything to Tacoma Police and is charged with unlawful imprisonment with sexual motivation. He’s due to be arraigned Dec. 21.
"There is a black eye on law enforcement and it was one of my guys," said Joe Duenas with Puyallup Tribal Police. "We will strive to make things better and continue to serve the public as best we can."
The police chief immediately placed Howlett on leave and he has since resigned. The patrol cars now have cameras on board to record what's going on.
According to the charging papers, there are only three victims right now, but the prosecutor believes there are many more victims who at this point are just too afraid to come forward.
Even with the arrest, Mao is still afraid of police. She just moved her from Cambodia to get away from police oppression only to have this happen in a country she trusted to be safe.
3 comments:
There are bad cops in any country, including the U.S. The woman did a very smart thing by taking down his license plate.
We all know there are bad cops but what happened to innocent until proven guilty? Police officers have to follow their training and protocol, especially in an area where so many gangs are. This lady was on TV and cannot speak English. Let's see what happens when the facts come in and not let sensational reporting take control of our opinions. That happens too much in this country. AND IN PIERCE COUNTY....
The biggest thing that sucks is that this officer truly is a good individual who undeniably has some issues he has no choice but to deal with. No way to look at it other than it being a total loss all the way around. Power should not have been abused, and someone innocent should not have to deal with the fear. What happened to that perfect world??
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