Law Enforcement
Failure to Communicate
August 30, 2005 
Looks like the Boise PD has an internal communication problem which needs immediate attention if it hasn’t already been cured concerning the case of the officer charged with sexual assault on the teenaged girl.
The courts will handle the criminal side of the case, but KIVI Channel 6 ran a story recently which was particularly disturbing. They had a mother on air whose daughter apparently was the focus of attention from the same cop. She claims he had an obvious interest in her daughter and eventually used his badge in an attempt to lure the girl into a “ride along.”
Mom said no to the ride, filed a complaint with the BPD, and received a letter from Chief Mike Masterson confirming the officer’s actions were indeed inappropriate and he promised to take care of the situation. Good marks to Masterson. And especially good marks for Mom to see there was a problem.
All this was BEFORE the alleged criminal assault took place.
To put it in perspective: Had the same circumstances occurred in school, the administration would have been hard pressed to place a teacher alone with 17 year old girls after admitting he had misbehaved previously.
The BPD must answer to the public why they allowed a guy to have 17 year old girls alone in his car AFTER command staff–at least the chief–had already confirmed his behavior was inappropriate. Sounds like a classic failure to communicate.
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Comments & Discussion
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Aug 30, 2005, 11:28 am
The ancillary tragedy in this is the City (PD) stands to be civilly liable for harm done to the young woman. While they may have faced civil penalties anyway, if the parent(s) and their attorney can show a pattern of behavior on the part of this officer and what the courts call “negligent supervision” or “negligent entrustment with the emblements of authority” the damage award will likely triple. These awards are tax dollars any way you look at it. So…a miscommunication perhaps, but a costly one for sure.