While many members of law enforcement are honest, hardworking people who
work to ensure the safety of the community at large, unfortunately, not
all police officers adhere to the laws they have sworn to protect. A prime
example of this reality comes in the form of a recent officer misconduct
scandal in which a now-former member of the Joplin Police Department (JPD)
offered to drop a DWI charge against a woman if she agreed to have a sexual
relationship with him.
On September 19th, 2016, ex-officer Brian Rogers waived indictment and pleaded guilty to
a federal misdemeanor charge of “Deprivation of Rights under Color
of Law,” for which he faces up to a year in federal prison and fines
up to $10,000. According to a statement issued by JPD, the department
learned that Rogers had made contact with the woman through Facebook and
text messages while her court charge was still pending and offered to
dismiss her case in exchange for a relationship, at which point the case
was referred to the FBI for investigation. Rogers resigned within a week
after Internal Affairs’ investigation began.
Attorney Scott J. Vorhees was
interviewed by KOAM News on the matter and commented on the issue of abuse of power by the police.
“Because of the difference in power, the person getting asked doesn’t
really feel like they have the ability to say no. You’ll see that
in cases of sexual harassment a lot, where one person has all the power
and the other person doesn’t really have the ability to say no.”
He went on to add that “just because one particular officer does
something wrong doesn’t mean that that it is a reflection on the
police department. It came to light, it was corrected, and I think it
will decrease the chance that this will ever happen here again.”
JPD maintains that it did not take the situation lightly, stating that
Rogers’ conduct “will not be tolerated” and that his
behavior “is not indicative of the men and women who work at our
department.”
At Johnson, Vorhees & Martucci our team of Four States personal injury
attorneys have more than 140+ years of combined experience guarding the
rights of injured clients throughout Joplin and
Springfield. For more information about this case or to find out how we can assist
you with your injury claim,
contact our office online or call us today at
(833) 600-0125.
