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| NEWS > 06 December 2007 |
Other related articles:
USA: When police officers cross the line
To some it's a "slippery slope," but the hiring of close relatives to work in the same municipal department, particularly the police department, is common in places like Meriden and Southington.
Nepotism - favoritism granted to family members - has come into the spotlight after two Meriden police officers filed a complaint alleging the cover-up of misconduct and unequal discipline for officer Evan Cossette, son of police Chief Jeffry Cossette.
More than one investigation is pending, but local officials have defended the city's employment practices.
"Our hiring practi... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Chicago Sun-Times - United Sta
06 December 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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How does cop keep job after se
Even with a shortage of eligible black men, it's unlikely that a crackhead from Englewood had consensual sex with police Sgt. John Herman.
Let's start with the beady eyes, Nazi mustache and double chin.
But Herman's lawyer, Peter Hickey, ripped the woman -- an admitted crack user -- who says she was raped by Herman in 2004. "This is about money. This is about a woman who was out walking the streets," Hickey said.
Herman, a 20-year-veteran of the police force, faces charges of aggravated criminal sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping and official misconduct for the alleged rape.
The victim, now 42, alleges that Herman stopped her on the street and, when she couldn't produce any ID, told her to get into his squad car. Then, Herman allegedly drove the woman to her apartment, where he allegedly sexually assaulted her and violated her with a baton.
After first denying knowing the woman, Herman, who was married at the time (his wife has since left him), now claims the sex was consensual.
He would be more believable had he said he paid the woman for sex.
What crack addict would agree to have sex with an unattractive Chicago Police officer unless some drugs were involved? And if Herman was having consensual sex with the woman, he darn sure was helping her with her $100-a-day habit.
But what is most galling about these charges is this: It took nearly four years -- count them: 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 -- for the city to stop paying Herman, even though DNA on the baton was linked to the victim, and DNA on the condom was linked to him. Instead of being fired for misconduct, Herman was assigned to a desk job where he continued to draw his salary.
Charge tossed out
Obviously, a person is innocent until proven guilty, and Herman hasn't been convicted of rape.
Still, how in the heck does a married police sergeant have consensual sex with a crack addict -- while on duty, no less -- and not get booted off the force?
Instead of serving and protecting black citizens in Englewood, Herman -- by his own admission -- was exploiting at least one of them.
Yes, the victim's drug addiction works against her, while Herman wears the mantle of Johnny Law. Nonetheless, it took a lot of courage for this woman to speak out.
Apparently, Herman wasn't the only bad cop who abused this woman. Other police officers allegedly tried to persuade her not to file charges by slapping her with a bogus arrest for prostitution.
That charge was later tossed out because no one showed up in court. But the arrest follows a pattern of harassment present in other cases in which a woman complained, including the notorious videotaped beating of a bartender at a North Side bar.
This victim testified Monday that a detective offered her $5,000 to drop her complaint.
"They kept badgering me as if I was the defendant and I raped him," she said.
Other officers who conspired with Herman to silence this victim should also be charged with official misconduct. For too long, corrupt police officers have been able to run amok because other police officers have their backs when they should have the abused citizens' backs.
'It shouldn't have taken four years'
Obi Benjamin Nwoye, the attorney who is representing the victim in a civil suit, was disgusted by Herman's claims that the sex was consensual.
"If it was consensual, Herman wouldn't have stuck his chest out and said he didn't know her when these charges were filed," he said. "If it was consensual, Herman had a duty and an obligation to disclose that, since the city has spent tons of money defending this case."
Nwoye also pointed out that Herman fought the release of his DNA evidence and took the Fifth Amendment in his deposition for the civil lawsuit.
"It shouldn't have taken four years to investigate this case," Nwoye noted. "But the truth is like water. It will always find a way out, no matter how long it takes."
For the sake of argument, suppose the victim in this case had an intimate relationship with Herman in the past. Did that give him the right to snatch this woman off the street, to force her to have sex with him and have her endure an assault with his baton?
Absolutely not.
He was the law. She was the addict.
Even if the sex had been consensual, a good cop would not have gone there. Because Herman did, he wasn't fit to wear the blue uniform.
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