A New Orleans officer was suspended after a bystander claimed he did nothing to stop the public rape of an unconscious woman

Yelena Dzhanova
Updated ·2 min read
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  • A New Orleans officer was suspended after a bystander said he did nothing when he alerted that a woman was being assaulted nearby.

  • The bystander told a 911 dispatcher that the officer didn't move when she told him of the rape.

  • "He's still just parked here," she said in audio of the 911 call.

A New Orleans officer has been suspended after a claim that he failed to respond to the rape of an unconscious woman on a nearby corner from his car.

In the audio of a 911 call obtained by Nola.com and nonprofit newsroom the Lens, a bystander can be heard telling a 911 dispatcher that she spotted an officer who might be able to respond to the scene sooner.

"There's a police officer in front of me now," the woman told the dispatcher. She approached the officer at the direction of the dispatcher and told him an unconscious woman was being raped.

But the officer did not respond, she said.

"I mean, this police officer isn't even moving. He's still just parked here," the woman said.

The attacker got away before the bystander approached the officer.

After the incident, which happened on July 26, the woman shared her experience in a series of tweets.

"Did you know that police turn a blind eye to active rapes, allowing the perpetrator to get off free, and dismissing bystanders as witnesses?" the woman asked in a tweet addressed to New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

 

The officer is a deputy constable with the Second City Court. He has been suspended indefinitely from his role without pay, per Nola.com.

Constables in New Orleans are fully-trained law enforcement officers, according to CBS affiliate WWL-TV. They carry a badge and a gun and have full discretion to arrest people.

The officer, who has not been identified by name, had been off duty when the woman approached him, Nola.com reported. Earlier, he had providing security detail for a movie being filmed in the area.

"This is not in character with the majority of people in law enforcement, and that includes the NOPD," said Constable Edwin Shorty, who oversees the office for which the officer works. "We are all shocked that anybody could get that kind of complaint and not respond timely."

Read the original article on Insider