“The way the police handled my complaint was almost more traumatizing than the crime itself.”

photo by Phil

“Dear PoPville,

On Labor Day, I was unfortunately the victim of the gold sedan flasher (this time on 15th and Fuller in Columbia Heights). I was shocked by the situation and didn’t really think to report it, but then I saw posts about (almost certainly) the same man terrorizing women in other areas of the city. That spurred me to report the crime, primarily because I know this type of repeated behavior often escalates to more violent sex crimes, and I reached out to another victim to get the detective on the case’s phone number. The way the police handled my complaint was almost more traumatizing than the crime itself.

When I called the detective, he asked if I had filed a police report and when I said no, he replied “well that’s not helpful, you should’ve called 911 right away to report it.” I was taken aback by his tone and told him that was what I was trying to do now, and he told me that I had to go to the police station to do that. I scoffed and replied “I’m not an officer, I don’t know how these things work, and I’m still in a bit of shock.” He did backtrack at that and became more empathetic, but the victim blaming was already set. The detective then asked me to go to the 3D station to file a formal police report, noting that it would be helpful to have the experience on file.

I went to the 3D station shortly after work. As soon as I walked in, a non-uniformed man asked what I needed. When I told him I wanted to report a crime, he prompted me to say it then and there, basically shouting it through the plexi-glass in the main hall. It was humiliating. He took down some details, stared at me dumbfounded, also asked why I hadn’t reported it earlier, and went back and forth a few times to ask me questions and then reiterate my answers to a cop sitting behind her desk nearby. At one point, he asked me to repeat what happened in detail, went back to the female cop, and then I watched in horror as they both literally doubled over laughing. It very well could’ve been an unrelated joke, but what kind of emotional response and community training is that, to laugh in front of someone who is actively reporting a sexual crime? It made me feel ashamed and angry, and it rattled me more than the actual crime. I was near tears at this point, and Pierre came back over with a case number, telling me I should share it with the detective mentioned earlier. So what is 3D’s actual job? I have to connect the dots for their fellow detective? They really couldn’t make the call? Just let the victim of the crime continuously have to jump through hoops?

God forbid I had been a victim of a more violent crime. I am so angry about this entire situation, and the way cops chose to respond. THIS IS WHY PEOPLE DON”T REPORT CRIMES. THIS IS WHY PEOPLE DISTRUST COPS. Some mere decency and thoughtfulness could’ve helped me change a terrible story into one of reclaiming my personal safety, but the police and their pseud-hero power complexes have made yet another tax paying citizen angry at the entire system. Shame on them.”