TX: Unconstitutional Cavity-Searches On Women's Genitals During Traffic Stops (not making this up.)

[kpete]

Texas state troopers caught on camera probing women's privates aren't isolated incidents: lawyers
Multiple highway patrol officers in Texas have been captured by dash cams doing 'unconstitutional' cavity searches on women's genitals during traffic stops. Lawyers and civil rights advocates say the 'mind-boggling' searches are all too common.

The first video was graphic enough. Two women, as shown in a Texas state trooper’s dash cam recording, are probed in their vaginas and rectums by a glove-wearing female officer after a routine traffic stop near Dallas.

A few days later, a second video surfaced. It was an eerily similar scenario, but this time the traffic stop was just outside Houston, and with different troopers. Two women, pulled over for allegedly speeding, are subjected to body cavity searches by a female officer summoned to the scene by a male trooper.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/troopers-texas-probe-genitals-women-traffic-stops-article-1.1414668#ixzz2avJkBSyY

The first video was graphic enough. Two women, as shown in a Texas state trooper’s dash cam recording, are probed in their vaginas and rectums by a glove-wearing female officer after a routine traffic stop near Dallas.

A few days later, a second video surfaced. It was an eerily similar scenario, but this time the traffic stop was just outside Houston, and with different troopers. Two women, pulled over for allegedly speeding, are subjected to body cavity searches by a female officer summoned to the scene by a male trooper.

Unlike the earlier tape, this one had clear audio. Yells can be heard as the female trooper shoves her gloved finger inside one woman.

In both invasive incidents, the female troopers don’t change gloves between probes, according to the horrified victims.

Texas officials say the searches are unconstitutional. So do attorneys for the shaken women, who have filed federal lawsuits.

[...]

So how did Texas troopers hundreds of miles apart get captured on dash cams conducting body cavity searches under nearly identical conditions?

“The fact that they both happened means there is some sort of (department) policy” advocating their use at traffic stops, Jim Harrington of the Texas Civil Rights Project told the Daily News. “It’s such a prohibited practice. I don’t know why they think they can do this. It’s mind-boggling.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/troopers-texas-probe-genitals-women-traffic-stops-article-1.1414668#ixzz2avInCLwy
http://www.lawyersgunsmoneyblog.com/2013/08/the-police-state-and-the-private-texas-edition

[Logical]

1. But people and Jurys 100% trust and believe the police. n-t

[Dawson Leery]

2. Disgusting!

Too many people blindly believe the police.

[geek tragedy]

7. Do therapists treat Obama Derangement Syndrome?

If so, you should seek help.

This story is not about them, and the fact that your first reaction was to blame them is proof of an unhealthy obsession.

Drop the hate.

[kardonb]

36. hate

take your own advice , geek !

[woo me with science]

41. This administration went all the way to the Supreme Court

to fight for strip searches for any arrestee. It has also supported or tacitly accepted blanket NSA spying, the militarization of our police forces, surveillance drones in our skies, assaults on investigative journalism, targeting of whistleblowers, and brutal, federally coordinated suppression of protest. Yes, there is a police state culture being bred under this administration, and all your predictable denial does not change what we are observing with our own eyes every single day.

The ubiquitous propaganda announcing that everything is fine at the very moment anyone, anywhere mentions it isn't only amplifies how creepy and authoritarian this country has really become.


The Obama DOJ urged the Supreme Court's endorsement of strip searches
http://www.salon.com/2012/04/03/the_obama_doj_and_strip_searches/singleton/

[geek tragedy]

44. "Brutal, federally coordinated suppression of protest"

is a zombie lie pushed by the left wing equivalent of Birthers.



Thxbai

[questionseverything]

54. so which part is a lie?

. In essence, the Florence ruling grants prison officials license to subject every single arrested individual entering the general prison population to humiliating and highly invasive strip searches (that’s 13 million people every year, with hugely disproportionately minority representation), based on the definitive police state mentality — one that has been applied over and over — that isolated risks justify the most sweeping security measures. This policy has been applied to those arrested for offenses such as dog leash laws, peaceful protests, and driving with an expired license.

What virtually none of this anti-Florence commentary mentioned, though, was that the Obama DOJ formally urged the Court to reach the conclusion it reached.

[Pab Sungenis]

4. Memo to women:

leave Texas. For your own safety.

Plus, if all the women left Texas, their particular flavor of stupid would die out in a generation or so.

[Heather MC]

19. Ha ha Their would be some batshit krazy women who stay so the gene pool would suffer greatly

I am sure some women are like If this protects us from mooslim attacks I don't see the problem. Sad but true

[Egalitarian Thug]

38. Exactly what I said to Ms. Thug when she pointed me to this.

I've been boycotting Texas for decades now (won't even drive through that hell-hole), so our absence will have no effect, but I've always wondered why any sane people would even want to stay there. And that goes double for women.

[tumtum]

5. In the Dallas case, the female trooper has been fired and indicted.

Troopers Indicted After Roadside Cavity Search Of Two Women

DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - CBS-11 has learned two state troopers involved in a controversial roadside cavity search of two North Texas women have been indicted on criminal charges by a Dallas County Grand Jury.

CBS-11 has learned that one of the troopers, Kelley Helleson, who left the courthouse after testifying Friday, is charged with two counts of sexual assault and two counts of official oppression.

She was seen on dashcam video searching the body cavities — front and back — of the two women along an exit ramp of the Bush Turnpike in Irving last summer.

The Texas Department of Public Safety fired Helleson.

CBS-11 has learned the other trooper in the case, David Farrell, is charged with theft after one of the women said her prescription bottle of the painkiller hydrocodone was missing after the search.

Farrell initially stopped the women after seeing them throw a cigarette out of their car window.

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/03/22/two-texas-state-troopers-indicted-on-criminal-charges-after-roadside-cavity-search-of-two-women/

In the other case, the female trooper was fired and the male trooper was suspended.

Trooper Bui was fired last week by the DPS. Trooper Turner has been suspended, Booker said

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2356618/Pictured-The-women-suing-police-unconstitutional-roadside-cavity-search.html#ixzz2avOYwrxP

[TreasonousBastard]

8. This answers my questions below. There is no...

explanation or excuse-- they're just bad cops.

[Heather MC]

20. I think They are hanging them out to dry. In the first article I read

The female trooper was specifically called to the stop. I am sure she knew before hand what she was expected to do.

They both should fired, but the Texas State Troopers didn't just decide this on a whim it was planned

[tumtum]

22. They were both fired and criminally indicted.

[Heather MC]

23. I don't think that gets to the heart of the issue this was a departmental order to do this

So how did Texas troopers hundreds of miles apart get captured on dash cams conducting body cavity searches under nearly identical conditions?
“The fact that they both happened means there is some sort of (department) policy” advocating their use at traffic stops, Jim Harrington of the texas Civil Rights Project told the Daily News. “It’s such a prohibited practice. I don’t know why they think they can do this. It’s mind-boggling.

The incidents occurred 100 miles apart,more people need to be dismissed

[tumtum]

26. I think you're right.

This is too much of a coincidence, there is probably an unwritten policy to this effect.
I'd like to see the DOJ come in and, figuratively speaking, anally probe the TX DPS.

[TreasonousBastard]

51. You mean they called for this female cop, not just any female cop? So...

yeah, this one is in on it. Another one might have blown the whistle.

A post or two down it says they're all fired and charges are being brought. If true, that's a good start.

And then there's the civil suits...

[JI7]

74. were the male officers who called the female officers to do this able to watch

?

it does seem like there is more to this.

[7962]

25. GOOD! SO sick of this arrogance

[cui bono]

70. So at least there is equality in the sexism.

The victims seem to only be women, or does it just so happen that those are the only ones reported on? And then the female perps get disciplined more harshly than the males, even though they were there because they were called to the scene by the male officers. So the male officers instigated the whole incident.

There is truly something terribly wrong with our society.

[tumtum]

76. So it seems.

The male trooper should have at least been charged with 2 counts of oppression under also, don't know about the sexual assault, as he didn't touch them.

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Hmmm... have they ever attempted to anally probe men...

during traffic stops? BTW, guy, is that bulge in your underwear really all you?

I am genuinely gobsmacked that even after the practice has been prohibited and courts have consistently ruled against it soome cops are still targeting women for these searches. Have any of them even tried to come up with an excuse or explanation?

[geek tragedy]

9. Rape culture. nt

[Heather MC]

24. Small government, so small it fits in a women's vagina

[Sheldon Cooper]

77. Actually, that is a great question.

I would love to see the stats on that. My gut feeling tells me that there are probably far less anal probes conducted on males because that would mean that the male LEO would have to insert his own finger into the guy's rectum, and by god that'd be gay and no way is he doing that. <------that's sarcasm in case it's not apparent.

[B2G]

10. The only way this would happen to me is

tied to a cot in a jail cell.

I can't imagine anyone submitting to this.

[tumtum]

12. Those 2 troopers involved in the Dallas incident

may very well be going to prison and the other 2 in the other incident may very well be sued into the poor house.
Very fitting in my opinion.

[Kelvin Mace]

13. Peope with guns and badges

Who can put you in jail, or simply kill you, legally, are pretty scary people. Demanding your rights is VERY dangerous.

[B2G]

14. I'll take my chances. nt

[Skittles]

52. I would too

there's just no way someone is doing that to me because I was speeding

[L0oniX]

21. Tachy-Psyche kicks in ...when they have gun pointed at your head. n/t

[B2G]

45. Did they have guns pointed at their heads?

I must have missed that part.

[L0oniX]

48. So you don't get a little nervous when they pull you over? How brave of you. n/t

[B2G]

49. Of course I get nervous when I get pulled over.

But no one is shoving their hand up my nether-region while I stand there.

I am in no way saying this is the womens' fault. I simply saying *I* would not have submitted.

OK?

[L0oniX]

50. Well ..that nervousness you feel is a minimal tachy-psyche response. Now try...

resisting that cavity search. Wanna bet one of the pigs at least puts their hand on their weapon? If and when you see that how is your tachy-psyche going to be then?

[davidn3600]

11. There was also this case in Texas about a "rape camp"

A recently filed lawsuit alleges that a Texas sheriff's office ran a "rape camp" at a county jail, where numerous male guards repeatedly raped and humiliated female inmates over an extended period of time.

Two women who were inmates at the jail, which is attached to the county's quaint courthouse building, are now suing Live Oak County and guards Vincent Aguilar, Jaime Smith and Israel Charles Jr.

The lawsuit says the three guards forced the women to shave their vaginas in front of them, to perform oral sex on each other and on the guards and sometimes "to conceal [the guards'] ejaculate by way of ingestion," the court documents state. The guards would also pin the women against the wall while verbally berating them, groping them and digitally raping them, the suit says.

The documents also say the guards told one plaintiff that she “belong[ed] to [them]” and was their “sex slave or whatever they wanted her to be.”

During any given attack, there were allegedly anywhere from one to three other guards who watched the crimes as they were committed.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/18/texas-rape-camp_n_3459920.html

[Auntie Bush]

16. PIGS! What an appropriate term! I though one of these

cases were brought to the SC and the SC said they were legal and any women could be raped during a routine traffic stop should the police feel the need to.

I remember after hearing that horrific, disgusting decision...warning my daughter not to speed or do anything for which she could be detained.

The boarder control has the legal right to do likewise. It happened to two of our hometown girls when coming back from Canada. It was preformed by police on the American side. More pigs.

[valerief]

15. Texas--where not to go. nt

[awoke_in_2003]

56. Texas, which I wish I could leave. nt

[Brigid]

58. I have a pull-out sofa.

Only trouble is, IN as a whole is not much better, except that at least I have not heard of atrocities like this happening here.

[awoke_in_2003]

59. I would love to go back to Ohio...

but they have been getting batshit crazy lately, too.

[AsahinaKimi]

17. This entire country is becoming scary day by day..

And I think it may be too late to do anything about it. Monku itta tte shouganai yo!

[Heather MC]

18. I HOPE TEXAS GOES BANKRUPT WITH ALL THE LAWSUITS FROM THIS.

This is State sanctioned RAPE

[movonne]

43. Maybe that is what the corps want..then they can buy

the state...

[Heather MC]

46. Didn't Texas secede from the union after Our President won

I am sure their super intelligent leader Rick Perry can handle this.

[Squinch]

61. State sanctioned rape is becoming commonplace in America.

[Heather MC]

62. True

First it was with a blunt object in a private room, now they removed the object, the private room, an added a camera.

Clearly rethuglians prefer their porn paid by tax payers, and rapey

[Squinch]

63. And don't forget did it in front of the male cops and the passing cars.

Lot of hatred for women in that state, and it's being given a political voice. These kinds of incidents are only going to become more common.

[Heather MC]

64. Well they need the male cop, so when Rush whacks off on the video

he can pretend he is the male cop.

ewwww

[Squinch]

65. Aaaahhhghghghg! The visual!!!

[Heather MC]

66. Misery loves company sorry, I got visual I had to share. I couldn't be the only one

[Squinch]

67. LOL!

[ananda]

78. Texas is a bastion of the rape culture.

The war on women continues apace, and the perverted
trogs are winning.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

27. How is this not rape?

.??

[Rex]

29. It is, but we live in a police state.

Our LEOs are now military foot soldiers.

[Heather MC]

32. Forced Consent is not rape

Well they are going to jail so these officer will find out how it feels soon enough. Or do they still cavity search inmates anymore?

[Ilsa]

68. My understanding is that if they

go to prison, they do a cavity search. A Humiliating experience.

[Heather MC]

69. Well Deserved!

[Ilsa]

72. Yeah, a little bit of the humiliation

they put their victims through works for me.

[Heather MC]

75. their first Cavity seach should be videoed just their facial reaction

[Rex]

28. 'mind-boggling'? Really? Did they just now crawl out from under a rock?

Do they pay any attention at all to what State legs pass as state laws? I guess the must have missed our LEOs becoming para-military officers and the constant erosion of the 4th.

[davidn3600]

33. Police know the courts have their backs

Many judges have the opinion that it's not the business of the court to rule on police procedures since such rulings could potentially put people in danger.

[Rex]

34. True, that is a HUGE tool in their arsenal.

Whose word are you going to believe, the cops or the person the cop is arresting?

[gtar100]

30. Sick. Just sick. No need to tell me twice not to go through Texas.

And I'm a guy. Feeling more estranged from other parts of the US every day. Time to take that "united" part out of the title. I want nothing to do with cultures that even think this stuff up, let alone practice it.

[Chaco Dundee]

31. I,m not surprised

I see cavity surches as a form of rape.some women might agree.who knows what those troopers might be capable of,had they flunked the entry exams.now,they can practise that sick behavior under the cloak of their law .

[ZombieHorde]

35. This is very disturbing. nt

[geek tragedy]

37. Texas women can SYG? nt

[ForgoTheConsequence]

39. Is there a state more corrupt than Texas?

For a state that hates the government so much they sure have a lot of government tyranny.

[Trillo]

40. First they came for the "druggies", they said job applicants & employees 4th & 5th Amendment rights

aren't protected (drug tests), then they came for drivers' private parts.

When did the presumption of innocence disappear? Did such a presumption ever exist?

[Dawson Leery]

42. American police must have their powers cut.

[JPZenger]

47. Put some notes up there for the cops to find

How about a note up there saying:

"If you can read this, our government is too close."

[Liberal_in_LA]

53. two of the women already received cash settlement

[awoke_in_2003]

55. Even for Texas this is unbelievable. nt

[Enthusiast]

57. In Texas they have great fondness for freedumb........nt

[Sand Wind]

60. "they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert..."

Scary

[NickB79]

71. Vaginas the size of cantaloupes, I tell you!

[B Calm]

73. Texas. . . . . .WTF

[Stuart G]

80. I read this today..for the first time..at Think Progress.

I checked and here it was..on Saturday. This story is shocking. Texas. These videos which have been put up at You Tube..are also
just as hard to believe. very very sad about Texas. Great story and thanks for putting it up.