Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Are Police Giving Other Officers Special Treatment?

UPDATE on Officer Donyell Sanchell

For the second time in recent weeks, a traffic stop raises the question, are police giving some people special treatment?

First, it was the Causeway incident involving Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price. Now Crescent City Connection Police say they will ask the Orleans Parish District Attorney if their handling of an incident involving a New Orleans Police officer was appropriate.

A spokesman says the Crescent City Connection Police will ask the Orleans District Attorney's Office to look at a squad car video and other evidence in the incident involving NOPD Officer Donyell Sanchell.

Spokesman Mark Lambert says the bridge police will ask the District Attorney’s Office if the charges against Sanchell are appropriate.

Criminologist Peter Scharf of Tulane University says the question's clear: Did officer Sanchell get special treatment? ****(Why of course he did!! All officers get this special treatment from their buddies!!!)****

“We have a culture where people think that they’re above the law and they’re entitled to some kind of deferential, special treatment,” Scharf said.

The incident took place Saturday evening.

According to the bridge police report, they gave chase with lights flashing when they see a black pickup doing up to 90 mph, weaving around traffic on the Crescent City Connection.

The truck driver speeds over the bridge, gets on I-10 east and doesn't pull over until he gets off at Basin Street.

The police report says the driver in the pickup, Officer Sanchell of the NOPD, was "irate" because he was late for work, then Sanchell drives off again -- his truck allegedly grazing the forearm of bridge police Officer Jeremy Wright.

When Sanchell finally stopped at First District police headquarters, an altercation takes place off camera, and Officer Wright says Sanchell slapped him.

“It seems incredible that a police officer would for whatever reason not respect the authority of another officer,” said John Penny of SUNO’s Criminal Justice Department.

What happened next raised even more questions. The bridge police gave Sanchell a summons for two counts of battery and traffic tickets for hit and run and careless operation.

“If that had happened to anyone else, what would have happened? Jail, assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault,” said Scharf.

“This officer should have been arrested and been placed in jail until he made bond,” Penny said. People across the community are saying the same thing.

In one viewer's words, “If I would have sped away, refused to stop, left after stopping and slapped an officer, I should have been arrested and brought to lockup.”

Dr. Scharf says Officer Sanchell's behavior may be troubling, but the message the response by bridge police sends is even more disturbing. “It's devastating. It's that if you’re in the entitled group that you’re above the law.”

The NOPD has launched an administrative review and suspended Sanchell without pay.

Dr. John Penny says the NOPD should send a message that makes it clear to other officers behavior like Sanchell's won't tolerated.

“Given what we see and if any of this is proven true, I think the officer should no doubt be fired,” Penny said. “He's unfit to be a police officer.”

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