Woman traumatized after strip search (The victim by the police)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: KSN.com

Hope Steffey's night began with a call to police for help.

It ended with her face down, completely naked and sobbing on a jail cell floor.

Steffey says Stark County, Ohio sheriff's deputies used excessive force and assaulted her during a strip search 15 months ago, according to a federal lawsuit.

Stark County Sheriff Timothy Swanson denies the allegation.

Steffey's attorney says her clothes, including her underwear and bra, were stripped from her body by at least seven male and female sheriff's deputies and jail workers.


Read more: http://www.ksn.com/news/also/15451131.html

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ku7pbvOr2Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw8GIyF91Xk

CANTON Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson has asked the Ohio attorney general to investigate the 2006 arrest, jailing and subsequent strip search of a 47-year-old Salem woman.

The arrest of Hope Steffey on Oct. 20-21, 2006, was featured in Channel 3 news reports last week. Steffey has filed a federal lawsuit against Swanson's office, saying she was assaulted by deputies, denied medical help, strip-searched and left naked for six hours in a jail cell.

The lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court before Judge David D. Dowd Jr.

On Wednesday, Swanson issued a statement saying he "has reviewed this incident and feel comfortable that my deputies performed their rather unpleasant tasks in this incident in a professional manner that is consistent with the requirements of the law.

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=398436&Category=9&subCategoryID=0

Watch the video. This is outrageous! The sheriff and his deputies who violated their own policy need to go and I hope this woman gets one huge settlement from these idiots! She was the victim not the criminal. Where did these deputies train - Abu Ghraib?

[tularetom]

1. This was floating around here last week - it was godawful video

You can't watch it without getting majorly pissed off at the assholes who did this shit.

FWIW I'd be willing to bet that she will be getting lots of calls from attorneys willing to take her case because I think she's in a position to get that huge settlement.

[RamboLiberal]

3. It's in court and her lawyer is interviewed on the video

I heard about this case today listening to a Pittsburgh RWingnut Kevin Miller on the radio and he was outraged at what was done to this woman. Scary cause anyone could get themselves in to this poor woman's position.

[Ilsa]

2. We have a case here where a man is suing the local police. HE was held

on flimsy evidence for a crime, even though other people had provided an alibi. He is disabled, lost his job, and his home.

Damn nazis take their behavioral cues from the Chief Chimp of the US.

[McCamy Taylor]

4. People still take a po's word over a civilian's---and yet look at what they do. Outrageous.

If this tape had "accidentally" disappeared like all the others, no one would even know that a sexual assault had occurred at the police station. And yes, it was a sexual assault, when two males participated in the stripping of a female, when there were female officers present who could have done it on their own (probably with the full cooperation of the poor victim--I am betting the reason she was freaking was because there were men in the room getting off on her fear).

[BlueIris]

5. Insane (and all too common in our brutal, Patriarchal society).

Scary, and a commentary on so many injustices.

[RamboLiberal]

6. Then these aholes only gave her a small weighted vest

when she was later taken to booking, she was given only a small weighted vest to cover her nudity.

http://www.freedom4um.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=72717

There's no excuse for not giving her clothing to go to the arraignment! And what the hell is the excuse for making her sit naked in a cell for 6 hours naked? Even if they thought she was going to commit suicide they should either have a garment they give to people who might commit suicide or they should give her a jump suit and have her locked in a clear cell where they can observe her.

Remember some of the guards at Abu Ghraib were civilian prison guards - wonder where they learn their sadistic practices?

[kb9vrg]

7. Police are the ones who need to be locked up.

And I'm sure, oh so sure, that the officers will either:

A) Be suspended with pay pending an investigation which finds no wrongdoing
B) Nothing will be done and these sadistic psychopaths will continue to be let loose out on our streets.
C) Be reprimanded, but not fired because of some rules in the Police fraternity.

I'm sure they'll settle out of court on the case as well, and not acknowledge any wrongdoing.

[ConcernedCanuk]

8. "Home of the brave, and the land of the free"

.
.
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yeah right . . .

[FirstLight]

9. SOOOOO disturbing...

The worst part is her screaming... and there is nobody to come and help!
The thought of being that isolated, that vulnerable wothout recourse to fight back (cuz then she'd no doubt get tased or beaten)
...yes, that's rape in my book.

I honestly felt sick when watching the news report.
terrifying...

[LaStrega]

10. Per the KSN article:

"The sheriff denies this was a strip search.

The sheriff's policy requires officers conducting any strip search to be of the same sex."


Fine, then it was sexual assault. Plain and simple.

By the by, I still cannot watch the video, it's just too fucking disturbing.

[CHIMO]

11. Saw The

Video earlier.

Sickening. Degrades humans.

One has to wonder how we dig ourselves out of this as acceptable behaviour?

Guess we have too wait until there is no cake. I really don't see another solution on the horizon.

[dysfunctional press]

12. not ALL cops are assholes- it's just that troublesome 99% that make the rest look bad

yeah, i pretty much stole the subject line from someone else's thread from a couple days ago...so what?