Police Officer Must Answer
30/04/07 09:03 Filed in: Government
Liability
Police officer breaks promise, turns over tape of
rape to news media despite promise to victim that
tape would not be released.
Police officer breaks promise, turns over tape of
rape to news media despite promise to victim that
tape would not be released. A
police officer in Oklahoma handled a rape case
where the rapist had videotaped the raping. The
victim had obtained a copy of the video and brought
it with her when reporting the rape. The police
officer assured the woman that the videotape would
remain confidential. However, the officer then
released the video to news media. The The Tenth
Circuit Court of Appeals held that the officer
could not escape liability for police misconduct
and refused to extend a 'qualified immunity'
protection to him against a lawsuit brought by the
rape victim for releasing the videotape.
Anderson v. Blake, 469 F.3d 910 (10th Cir. 2006).