Oklahoma Cop Another Example of Police Out of Control

We have a crisis in our country when a white police officer who is sworn to protect and serve his community is charged with boldly preying on eight black women by pulling them over for routine traffic stops, raping and sodomizing them, threatening them with jail or physical harm if they tell, and then return to patrolling the streets as if nothing ever happened.

This crime is beyond heinous, it’s beyond reprehensible and I’m trying to figure out what policies could have prevented Oklahoma Police Officer Daniel Holtzclaw from allegedly perpetrating a series of what I believe are violent hate crimes against African-American women.

Holtzclaw, 27, was charged last week with 16 counts including first-degree rape and sexual battery after being accused of assaulting at least eight Black women while on patrol. He also faces charges of forcible oral sodomy and indecent exposure. Holtzclaw remains in jail on a $5 million cash bond.

It’s deplorable that Holtzclaw may have singled out women for violent sexual acts, but it’s also insidious that he directed his racial hatred specifically toward unsuspecting black women. Holtzclaw is accused of stopping women, who were all Black and between the ages of 34 and 58. Prosecutors say he raped two women and either fondled others or forced them to expose themselves, and police said there may even be more victims.

Holtzclaw told the women that if they didn’t comply, they would be arrested or physically harmed. The first victim to come forward was a 57-year-old grandmother who claimed Holtzclaw forced her to perform oral sex.

“She was so afraid that no one was going to believe her because she’s African-American,” the woman’s attorney, Aletia Timmons, told reporters. Another troubling development: Supporters of Holtzclaw have raised more than $7,000 for his defense. A three-year veteran on the force, Holtzclaw maintains his innocence and claims he did nothing to the eight Black women who have come forward. Friends and family have created a Facebook page called “Justice for Daniel Holtzclaw.”

They insist the criminal allegations against him are false, and have been using the page to try to sell shirts that read, “Free the Claw.” More than 500 people have “liked” the Facebook page. “The pursuit of Justice will be lengthy, but with the support of Family, Friends, and the Community, Daniel Holtzclaw will be vindicated and justice will prevail,” the page states. “All funds raised will assist Daniel and his Family as they seek the JUSTICE Daniel Holtzclaw so rightly deserves.” (Holtzclaws’ Gofundme.com page has been shut down after numerous complaints, but his Facebook page remains up. )

So let’s follow this twisted logic: supporters of Holtzclaw actually believe that eight women who have no connection to each other are lying and that they all conspired to hatch an elaborate scheme to discredit him? Why would eight Black women make up stories about being raped and forced to perform various sex acts by a white police officer? How is this in their best interests?

Holtzclaw’s friends and family seem to  have a total disregard for Black women – and women in general – but particularly the African-American women who Holtzclaw allegedly singled out for his own sick behavior.

“This is a tragedy,” Anthony Douglas, president of the Oklahoma chapter of the NAACP, told reporters. “What this is is sending out a signal to the state of Oklahoma that African-Americans [are] prey. We do what we want to you because we hold a badge and a gun.”

I don’t know what police policies could have prevented Holtzclaw from allegedly preying on those women, but I do know this: There’s a very troubling pattern in this country where arrogant white police officers can abuse and shoot black men and rape black women and feel they are above the law.

America’s legislators should stop claiming that these cases of police abuse against Black citizens are isolated incidents and admit there’s a growing and disturbing police culture that is driving this despicable behavior.

And more one thing: Holtzclaw, if convicted of these crimes,  is a deeply troubled and twisted man who should never be allowed to step outside a prison cell again.

What do you think?

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