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| Daniel Holtzclaw: questions for police chiefs after officer is convicted of rape | Daniel Holtzclaw: questions for police chiefs after officer is convicted of rape |
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| Police chiefs are facing a series of lawsuits from women attacked by a predatory officer who used the cover of his job to target vulnerable victims. | Police chiefs are facing a series of lawsuits from women attacked by a predatory officer who used the cover of his job to target vulnerable victims. |
| Hours after a jury convicted former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw of raping and sexually abusing eight different women, his victims and their supporters gathered at the same courthouse to raise a troubling question: why wasn’t Holtzclaw caught sooner? | Hours after a jury convicted former Oklahoma City police officer Daniel Holtzclaw of raping and sexually abusing eight different women, his victims and their supporters gathered at the same courthouse to raise a troubling question: why wasn’t Holtzclaw caught sooner? |
| “We are not totally satisfied,” said the father of one of the victims. “I don’t understand how this officer could operate for months [with] it going unnoticed by somebody above him.” | “We are not totally satisfied,” said the father of one of the victims. “I don’t understand how this officer could operate for months [with] it going unnoticed by somebody above him.” |
| Benjamin Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney who is representing several of the victims, promised a series of forthcoming civil lawsuits against the city to shed light on the questions. | Benjamin Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney who is representing several of the victims, promised a series of forthcoming civil lawsuits against the city to shed light on the questions. |
| “We understand that there were other women who called before, whose calls went unanswered,” Crump said, referring to the report to police that resulted in Holtzclaw’s arrest. “We need to find out how aggressive [investigators] were. We need to find out, how could this happen so many time and nobody see what was going on?… It’s mind boggling how nobody would catch this.” | “We understand that there were other women who called before, whose calls went unanswered,” Crump said, referring to the report to police that resulted in Holtzclaw’s arrest. “We need to find out how aggressive [investigators] were. We need to find out, how could this happen so many time and nobody see what was going on?… It’s mind boggling how nobody would catch this.” |
| The demand for answers came as two of Holtzclaw’s victims spoke about their assaults for the first time in public. One of them, Jannie P Ligons, made the report in June 2014 that led authorities to arrest Holtzclaw and discover a dozen other accusers. | |
| “I was out there alone and helpless,” said Ligons, a grandmother and daycare worker in her 50s. On Thursday, the jury convicted Holtzclaw for forcing her to perform oral sex at a traffic stop. “The only thing I could see was my life flash before my eyes and the gun on his right hip … As I tried to look up at his name, I was afraid to. I said, if I know his name I know he’s going to kill me.” | |
| Still, Ligons made a report to the police immediately after the assault. “He just picked the wrong lady to stop that night.” | |
| Another of Holtzclaw’s victims, Sade Hill, spoke about going into “survival mode” as Holtzclaw raped her while she was handcuffed to a hospital bed. | Another of Holtzclaw’s victims, Sade Hill, spoke about going into “survival mode” as Holtzclaw raped her while she was handcuffed to a hospital bed. |
| Holtzclaw, Hill testified at trial, implied that he could have drug charges against her dropped if she cooperated. “I just couldn’t believe it. I was speechless. I was scared,” Hill said. “I felt like I was in survival mode. I had to do what he was making me do.” | Holtzclaw, Hill testified at trial, implied that he could have drug charges against her dropped if she cooperated. “I just couldn’t believe it. I was speechless. I was scared,” Hill said. “I felt like I was in survival mode. I had to do what he was making me do.” |
| Holtzclaw was convicted of 18 counts of rape, sexual assault and sexual battery, out of 36 total charges. He will be sentenced in January. | Holtzclaw was convicted of 18 counts of rape, sexual assault and sexual battery, out of 36 total charges. He will be sentenced in January. |
| His conviction is a rare moment of accountability for officers who abuse their position: out of the hundreds of police officers terminated for sexual abuse in recent years, an AP investigation found, only a small number faced criminal charges and even fewer were convicted. Black women are especially liable to be their targets. | His conviction is a rare moment of accountability for officers who abuse their position: out of the hundreds of police officers terminated for sexual abuse in recent years, an AP investigation found, only a small number faced criminal charges and even fewer were convicted. Black women are especially liable to be their targets. |
| Rachel Anspach, of the African American Policy Forum at Columbia Law School, noted that his conviction was still an anomaly. “We should take it as a sign of progress that Holtzclaw was convicted,” she said. “This was not a new or unique form of violence. Black women, and particularly black women who have other vulnerabilities, continue to be left out of the mainstream view of who is victimized by rape … I would hope that this case would be an important step toward raising their visibility.” | Rachel Anspach, of the African American Policy Forum at Columbia Law School, noted that his conviction was still an anomaly. “We should take it as a sign of progress that Holtzclaw was convicted,” she said. “This was not a new or unique form of violence. Black women, and particularly black women who have other vulnerabilities, continue to be left out of the mainstream view of who is victimized by rape … I would hope that this case would be an important step toward raising their visibility.” |
| Friday’s press conference was also marked by strong rebukes for the media from activists who sought to raise the profile of the case. The trial did not attract sustained attention from national advocacy groups or media outlets. On the night the jury returned a verdict, few news networks carried any live coverage. | Friday’s press conference was also marked by strong rebukes for the media from activists who sought to raise the profile of the case. The trial did not attract sustained attention from national advocacy groups or media outlets. On the night the jury returned a verdict, few news networks carried any live coverage. |
| “I am ashamed at the lack of coverage,” said Tezlyn Figaro, a former Oklahoma City resident and a media consultant who helped raise the profile of the trial. “I don’t want to play a game to make you feel comfortable. I want to be clear that I am ashamed.” | “I am ashamed at the lack of coverage,” said Tezlyn Figaro, a former Oklahoma City resident and a media consultant who helped raise the profile of the trial. “I don’t want to play a game to make you feel comfortable. I want to be clear that I am ashamed.” |
| On Thursday night, Holtzclaw’s verdict had the highest visibility on Twitter, where local activists had labored to keep the trial in the public eye. One of them, Grace Franklin, appeared beside the women on Friday morning. Crump praised Franklin and her group, OKC Artists for Justice, for “helping to tell America about the biggest rape case that none of them had heard about”. | On Thursday night, Holtzclaw’s verdict had the highest visibility on Twitter, where local activists had labored to keep the trial in the public eye. One of them, Grace Franklin, appeared beside the women on Friday morning. Crump praised Franklin and her group, OKC Artists for Justice, for “helping to tell America about the biggest rape case that none of them had heard about”. |
| “There has to be a conversation about sexual assault, about rape, and about the specific care that black women and women of color need when these situations happen,” Franklin said. “There is a tendency not to believe black women. There is a tendency not to value black women the way other women are valued.” | “There has to be a conversation about sexual assault, about rape, and about the specific care that black women and women of color need when these situations happen,” Franklin said. “There is a tendency not to believe black women. There is a tendency not to value black women the way other women are valued.” |
| Franklin also expressed disappointment that the jury acquitted Holtzclaw of several charges brought by five women out of the 13 who accused him of sexual abuse. “The 18 counts that were guilty are important,” she said. “The 18 that were not guilty are reflective of an issue we have in this country.” | Franklin also expressed disappointment that the jury acquitted Holtzclaw of several charges brought by five women out of the 13 who accused him of sexual abuse. “The 18 counts that were guilty are important,” she said. “The 18 that were not guilty are reflective of an issue we have in this country.” |