Why would one woman’s complaint against a cop trigger another? Last January, after an indignant Angelina Torres, 27, publicly claimed a Suffolk County, N.Y., highway-patrol officer had forced her to strip and walk home wearing only underpants, it seemed to unleash a deluge of complaints against police officers there. Within a month six other women, including Deon, came forward claiming Frank Wright had abused them, too. Experts say the answer may lie in the way women victims view their assailant. When a woman is abused by a police officer, she usually thinks she has done something wrong, says Jerome Skolnick, a New York University professor who has written about police corruption. “Maybe she’s an exotic dancer or she had a drink before she got behind the wheel. She feels guilty, and more than likely she’ll remain silent.” But once one woman comes out publicly and the silent victim sees the abuse as part of a pattern, Skolnick says, she is likely to make an official complaint. And for an officer, says Skolnick, sexual misconduct is often a serial crime.
Defense lawyers have another theory. The majority of the so-called victims, they argue, are from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and are motivated simply by money. And, in fact, most of the women who claimed they were abused by Wright have filed a civil lawsuit, each asking for $15 million in damages from the county.
Deon, who is 34 and works as a waitress, scoffs at the idea that she went public for the money. She says after Wright handcuffed her, drove her to a warehouse area and demanded she expose her breasts, she never felt safe again. Wright has denied all allegations against him. Recently federal investigators have taken over the criminal probe into his conduct, and since federal charges are easier to prove and carry stiffer penalties than state charges, Deon hopes that she, and the other women, may finally get justice. And that’s more, she says, than money can buy.
