Disturbing Video, Police Assault Woman, Strip Searched

[John7878]

The sheriff accuses the news of just showing parts of the video, to get sympathy for Hope Steffy, when the news denies this, he THEN admits that he doesn't know what video they have.

So the news asks for ALL video & audio that the sheriff's dept has.

http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx...

As of 04-14-2008 the sheriff's dept has still NOT turned over all the video to Steffy's lawyers or to the news.

One can only suspect that if this video was this bad the rest would certainly put them in jail for a long time.

The building video CLEARLY shows her being taped, while what looks to be the whole night shift, (4 men & 4 women) parade her down the hall. I guess the Sheriff's web page that calls this a 'unpleasant' duty for his officers, doesn't realize they have made a spectator sport out of it.

Link to Steffy's lawsuit:

http://pamelahennessy.com/steffey.pdf
Read #21


Just the stuff we know FOR SURE is enough to get these sadists jail time.

You don’t leave a victim without medical care.
You don’t have males on females, let alone EIGHT people to strip a handcuffed woman.
You don’t leave them naked, without at least a paper covering.
You don’t take them to be booked naked.

This has nothing to do with them thinking she was suicidal, it was almost CERTAINLY done to humiliate, embarrass, degrade and punish Hope Steffy.

And then there is all the disputed stuff that we have.

That she was attacked by the deputy without just cause.
That he pulled on her arm to get her ‘to react’ and then made it seem as if she was resisting.(A favorite of abusive cops)
Deputy and jailers claim that she was in mood swings, but NO VIDEO shows this.
That the deputy left her in the car, while he talked to someone at the jail. (This alone raises a red flag for me!!)
That she was told she could go home after questions.
That she was NEVER asked to remove her cloths.
That the officers attacked her without warning.
That her tooth & back were injured in the multiple attacks by police.

And then we have all the ‘missing’ video for icing on the cake…….I smell a setup, this gets to stinking more & more.

[John7878]

Originally Posted by ar15jules

Here is a news flash.....you have no freedom in a place of incarceration. Your FREEDOM is left at the door when you decided to be a jackass and get arrested. When you enter, you are told to get naked and be searched. You don't have the right to refuse a strip search. If you refuse, spit at people, and fight.....you get strip searched by force.
Jules

Maybe you haven't heard of the 4th amendment or due process....maybe innocent until proven guilty???

Originally Posted by ar15jules

And, back to my original post....do you think the officers where conducting the search in that manner because they felt like abusing a citizen?????? Where is the start of the tape?
Jules

EXACTLY!!! You finally get it.....don't say it don't happen.......

I suspect this guy could get a job at Stark County:
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/19/1961.asp

[John7878]

Heres a letter I have written and am sending out to all my Reps in Washington and all other parties involved, feel free to use any or all if you feel the same way:

I recently ran across the story of Hope Steffy. A crime victim, who called 911, only to be arrested herself and then taken to jail. There she was videoed, while being forcibly stripped naked by several officers, both male & female and left in a cell for 6 hours naked. Then when she was later booked she was only allowed to wear a weighted vest.

As outraged as I was about this incident, I was even more appalled when I started searching the internet and found case after case of the same type of abuses, and I found out that the Bill of Rights & 4th Amendment are no protection at all apparently from attacks like this by police.

Police need a warrant to search your house, but it seems the “law” doesn’t apply to the person themselves. And the interpretation and application of a “strip search” varies wildly from city to city, county to county and state to state.
Most of the time, it is said only to be allowed if the officer suspects you to have a weapon or drugs. But in practice this isn’t always the case. And in instances of abuse, it’s almost never the case.

Basically it comes down to this, the police can FORCE a strip search on you at any time or place. Even in a public place in view of bystanders or your neighbors. Let alone at the station with a trumped up disorderly conduct charge or something similar.

Your only recourse is to report the incident or take it to court in a lawsuit. The internal investigations are notorious for siding with their officers, even when wrong. Although it seems quoting that it is within ‘standards’ is supposed to excuse the police. I suppose to do otherwise would be to invite a lawsuit. And once a victim has gone through the process, what good is the police coming back and admitting they were wrong, or winning a lawsuit, the damage is already done. Innocent people are scarred for life.

And there have been many lawsuits for these actions, the surprising thing is nothing has been done to cure the problem and restore protections of the 4th amendment.
I believe if police need a warrant for a residence, then they absolutely should need a warrant to strip search a person.

As for the Stark County 'protocols', in Steffy’s case, the POLICE are not supposed to be able to 'punish' you for a 'crime' they THINK you might commit!!!
And with this suicide 'watch' that’s exactly what they are doing!

The excuse that it is for a persons own good is BS. And not part of their function.

If they REALLY think someone is suicidal, then they need to be transferred to a medical facility that is equipped to give a REAL diagnosis and handle patients like that. Plus they would have all the medication & equipment for people that may REALLY be suicidal.

NOT FORCEABLY STRIPPED NAKED AT THE JAIL!!

To NOT get them to a mental health facility is as much denying them medical help, as if they were hurt & bleeding and they didn't take them to a hospital!!

This whole thing needs to be changed or taxpayers will be paying lawsuit after lawsuit. It’s OUTRAGEOUS!

And some police would have you believe that a strip search is needed to search for ‘weapons or drugs’. With a pat down and all the metal detectors & wands we have, I don’t see the weapons search excuse as valid either.

Most court houses have detectors at the entrance to scan for weapons, either they are effective and stop the weapons, or they aren’t effective and they are a waste of money. You can’t have it both ways.

And if we are depending on winning the “War on Drugs”, by pulling down the underpants of women & children, then we are in big trouble.

Police have abused this power for too long, taxpayers have paid lawsuits for this outrageous behavior for too long and we need a FEDERAL LAW to stop the practice.

[John7878]

Originally Posted by Mtbkski

Bet you it didn't start that way. But with her not coopereating. It led to the men being there.

EIGHT people, 4 men & 4 women are needed?

Steffy says she was NEVER asked to remove clothes.

But since the sheriff has still NOT turned over all the video, we may never know. Sort of hard to convict the people that are controlling the evidence.

And I guess they ran out of paper covers and had to leave her naked for 6 hours....and then booked her naked too, except for a vest.

I call BS on this, and anyone dumb enough to actually support this kind of treatment.

Originally Posted by Mtbkski

Note on the tape. Only the women are stripping her. The men are just holding her down. For the safety of the female guards.

WRONG! You better look at the tape again. In at least one instance, the women pull her pants down, and her panties are still at her ankles when the MAN removes them.

Originally Posted by Mtbkski

Anytime you do a take down strip search, you are in for question after question. And that is why is was taped. And every guard there knows it is being taped.

And the sheriff hasn't released all the tape because????

Steffy's lawyers had to go back and ask specifically for the tape, because the sheriff didn't give them ANY of it at first.

Then he gives them a highly edited tape and then accuses the news of editing the tape, when it was denied, he then admits he doesn't know what tape they have.
Which is sorta weird, since they were supposed to turn over ALL the video/audio to Steffy's lawyers & news.


That the thing was taped means NOTHING! People think just because they taped it that everything was legal. After all who would be STUPID enough to tape themselves doing a crime, they say.

A judge ruled that two Chicago police officers unreasonably searched a man with a screwdriver = they sodomized him.
http://www.wispid.com/blog/chicago-p...w-screwdriver/

Off-Duty Chicago Cop Caught On Tape Beating Female Bartender
http://cbs2chicago.com/slideshows/po...838.html?rid=2

State Trooper Must Pay $1M For Making Couple Strip
Jeremy Dozier Was Accused Of Making Couples Run Around Naked In Cook, Lake Counties
http://cbs2chicago.com/topstories/Je....2.338245.html

Trooper beats woman after traffic stop:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCrc-...eature=related

- Justin Volpe, the New York City police officer who admitted sodomizing a prisoner with a broken broomstick, was sentenced Monday to 30 years in prison. Volpe, 27, also was ordered to pay a $525 fine and $277,495 in restitution to Haitian immigrant Abner Louima.
http://archives.cnn.com/1999/US/12/1....02/index.html


Heck heres a cop that tased HIS OWN PARTNER!!! Like he didn't think that was going to come back on him!?!??!

Authorities say a Hamtramck police officer used a Taser stun gun on his partner during an argument about stopping for a soft drink.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10378923/

So much for the theory cops wouldn't do things if they thought they were illegal or were being taped.

You are under the delusion that this only happens to someone else, and that they deserved it.
Maybe it will happen to you or your wife/daughter, then we'll see what you have to say.


Also for anyone wondering, I have personally seen Hope Steffy’s arrest record. Besides this incident, she had NO record, not even a speeding ticket.

[jofreder]

Originally Posted by John7878

The sheriff accuses the news of just showing parts of the video, to get sympathy for Hope Steffy, when the news denies this, he THEN admits that he doesn't know what video they have.

So the news asks for ALL video & audio that the sheriff's dept has.

As of 04-14-2008 the sheriff's dept has still NOT turned over all the video to Steffy's lawyers or to the news.

Since When does the Sheriff answer to the Media? You won't get any support from me until I see all the eviednce. I saw a slanted news report with Officers striping her most likely because she refused. Wonder why they did not show her behavior or even talk about it?

[piste]

Originally Posted by jofreder

Since When does the Sheriff answer to the Media? You won't get any support from me until I see all the eviednce. I saw a slanted news report with Officers striping her most likely because she refused. Wonder why they did not show her behavior or even talk about it?

Eh? You want all the evidence before rendering an opinion yet you say "most likely because she refused" .....based on what??..you are either impartial and only consider objective facts or you are predisposed to conclusions based on assumptions.......you can't have it both ways..

[Bradco]

Sorry but even from the little of the video, even if it does not show her beforehand, this was excessive and uncalled for, and definitley she should not have been stripped while Male officers were present, come on whoever thinks they should have the rest of the Story before condemming them, something is sad with that!!!!! I feel sick in the Stomach to even think of them doing something like that to my Wife.

[svs]

We don't know the whole story.
But I have yet to hear a LEO or CO on this site mention her being held, nude for 6 hours. Is this standard procedure. Are paper gowns not available?
Or is it possible this Sherrifs office is corrupt and filled with pervs who got their rocks off checking this lady out?
We all know that there will be corruption without oversight, every LEO knows of officers they don't respect or trust, or departments which have bad leadership, but how many of them turn them in?
Best be thankful of the free media, they have their bias's, but would you rather they wern't there at all?

[reels18]

Originally Posted by daniel1113

I honestly cannot believe some of the responses I am reading.

Unless the rest of the video shows this rather small woman brutally attacking an LEO, I don't think this treatment is justified, period. If this is how any LEO is allowed to treat a supposed first-time and nonviolent offender (who is also the original victim) something is wrong. Very wrong.

Those that are complaining about the violation of the prisoner's rights also feel free to judge those police officers out of hand.

For those officers to be performing this search while being videoed, they must have felt they were following procedures for that specific situation.

Right now, none of us have the facts pertaining to what led to this woman being treated in this manner. I would reserve judgment on all parties until the facts were known.

[jofreder]

Originally Posted by Bradco

Sorry but even from the little of the video, even if it does not show her beforehand, this was excessive and uncalled for, and definitley she should not have been stripped while Male officers were present, come on whoever thinks they should have the rest of the Story before condemming them, something is sad with that!!!!! I feel sick in the Stomach to even think of them doing something like that to my Wife.

How do you know it was excessive? You have no idea what went on before hand and if there are protocols that must be followed. I certainly understand the emotional reaction you have and feel the same way about my wife but I doubt my wife would be fighting with the police or in the middle of the street at night.

What if they left her with her cloths and she Hung herself? Would you then be saying those bastard Cops should have taken her cloths from her? Cops can't win and until I see more details I side with the Cops. I find it hard to believe that half a dozen officers were just down with roughing up this woman who did nothing at all.

This is exactly the intent of the News story to get you mad at the Cops without showing the full story, Lawyers playing the public. I am skeptical of the media so I usually go against them until I see good proof.