Deputy Accused Of Rape — Treated Like A Criminal

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Giancarlo Scotti was arrested two days ago on suspicion of raping two inmates at the women’s jail in Lynwood, California. He was booked on two counts of rape and two counts of oral copulation under color of authority. Only five hours passed between the time the allegations were made and the deputy was arrested. That is a stunningly quick investigation — likely due to the surveillance footage inside the jail.

In a refreshing turn for a department mired in controversy for the last several years, Los Angeles County Sheriff, Jim McDonnell, did the right thing and treated Deputy Scotti like a common criminal…because that’s what he is. As a former law enforcement officer, one of the things that bothered me more than most anything else, was how some officers tended to downplay the bad acts of their colleagues. The “thin blue line” is not some urban legend. It’s a real thing.

For example, former LA County Sheriff, Lee Baca, was convicted in May of this year for obstructing a 2014 federal investigation into corruption and civil rights violations within the LA County jail system. In particular, Baca was accused of conspiring with deputies to hide an inmate who had been providing information to the Federal Bureau of Investigations concerning the supposed civil rights violations. To make matters worse, Baca ordered deputies to surveil and investigate the FBI agents involved in the investigation. Ultimately, Baca and nine other LA Sheriff’s Department deputies and officials were convicted in the scheme.

To be clear, this isn’t criticism of the police in general. I’ve worked with hundreds of law enforcement from varying agencies, and the overwhelming majority of them were honest, decent people.

Law enforcement officers are given an enormous amount of power. They have the authority to divest someone of their freedom. They can use deadly force in situations where ordinary citizens can’t. They are given the benefit of the doubt in practically every judicial proceeding in which they participate. Yet, for a small number of these highly-trusted public servants, personal gain and power are how they choose to use that authority. And when their abuses come to light, the first instinct of far too many is to come up with excuses for the behavior. It’s not uncommon to hear, “There must be something we don’t know” and “Let’s wait to see what the investigation yields.” The same sorts of cautions are rarely offered for ordinary citizens accused of crimes, despite our justice system espousing the notion of “innocent until proven guilty.” If a cop accuses you, you’re guilty; at least in the eyes of public opinion. If a cop is accused of wrong-doing, he’s innocent until thoroughly proven otherwise.

To be clear, this isn’t criticism of the police in general. I’ve worked with hundreds of law enforcement from varying agencies, and the overwhelming majority of them were honest, decent people. They go to work, do their jobs, and do them well, just like you and I. But for the very small contingent who abuse the public trust; who use their authority for evil ends; well, those men and women are entitled to the heavy hand of the law. And that’s what they should get.

I commend, therefore, Sheriff McDonnell, for treating this deputy like he would any other person accused of these types of heinous acts — like a common criminal.