Police as Perpetrators

The police have historically been connected with domestic violence in that many studies have found that police officers are more likely to participate in domestic violence than other professions. 

DISCUSS THE THREE STUDIES

Officer Kenneth Corley was accused of domestic violence.

Link Betwen Police and Domestic Violence Study

Interspousal Aggression in Law Enforcement Families

Ohio Officer Found Guilty of Rape

Sexual Assualt Committed By Officers

Paragraph detailing officers that commit sexual assault.

Officer that was found guilty of raping a prisoner in Ohio for context.

Discussion of the Ike McKinnon statements of police having sex with their prisoners - consentually and non-consentually.

The case of Robert Brown, who raped a woman after driving her following a car accident. 

Detroit Officer Charged with Rape

The North Side Rapist

The North Side Rapist Case

Cedric Ector

From 1977 to 1978, a serial rapist was terrorizing the North West side of Detroit. The rapist, known as the North Side Rapist, was believed to be responsible for at least 33 rapes, two shootings, and a string of robberies. Police had few leads until {DATE}, when two women were approached at a bus stop by a gunman who demanded they walk into a nearby alley. Fortunately, both women were able to escape before the man could begin his assault. Later that day, one of the women noticed a man walking past her house who she quickly identified as the man who had attempted to assault her earlier that day. She took note of the license plate of the car that the man entered then notified the police.  Police checked the license and found that the car was registered to the mother of Detroit Police Officer Cedric Ector Sr. Two Officers investigating the case, Lt John Scott and Inspector James Roby, drove to Ector's mothers' home to interrogate Ector about the attempted rapes as well as the rapes perpetrated by the North Side Rapist. As the officers arrived at the home, Ector found his revolver and shot himself in the head. Due to the suspicious timing of Ector's death and pressure from the community, police began to investigate the possibility that Ector was responsible for the North Side Rapes. Friends and Family of Ector were bewildered that the man they knew as quiet and kind could be possible for such horrific crimes. Police found that in January of 1977, Ector's girlfriend committed suicide while being two months pregnant with Ector's child. Ector found her body. Many of Ector's close friends told police that this event was a breaking point for Ector. Coincidentally, not long after Ector's girlfriend died, the North Side Rapist began his spree.

As the investigation continued, police struggled to find certain information that was key to discovering the truth behind Ector's past. Ector had a number of guns registered to his name  which the police were never able to locate and it was alleged that his primary residence was not his mother's home. Police never found out if Ector resided on another property and therefore, never located a large amount of evidence that may have been vital to the case. Police, however, did find a sawed-off shotgun at Ector's home, which confused Ector's family and friends as they did not know what Ector would have used that weapon for. Despite there being no further rapes, later in 1978, police cleared Ector of all of the North Side Rapes but found him culpable of the attempted rape of the two women on the day he died. Police alleged that they determined that Ector's blood type was different from the serial rapist's and stated that none of the victims of the rapist were able to identify Ector. Not long after police stated that Ector was innocent of the rapes, they arrested Ronald T. Wagoner, 28, on charges of burglary and armed robbery. Police Chief William Hart said that the Detroit Police Department believed that Wagoner was the North Side Rapist and that Wagoner had admitted to three counts of criminal sexual assault and four burglaries. Allegedly, police initially identified Wagoner as a suspect due to ballistics tests from one of the scenes that led back to weapons registered to Wagoner.  Prosecutor, Dominic R. Carnovale, only charged Wagoner with the burglaries, stating that "even if the criminal sexual conduct charges had been included, all the prison time would've been served concurrently, so we went for the solid cases".  

Conclusion made about the case: 

There is not enough evidence to say that Ector definitely was the North Side Rapist but there does not seem to be enough evidence that Ronald Wagoner was either. If they could definitely not connect Ector through DNA (or blood testing at the time), then why could they not connect Wagoner if he was the rapist? It’s odd that they did not seem to find Ector’s primary residence (where there would be more evidence) and that Wagoner was not convicted for any of the rapes. We can conclude that Ector was the man who attempted to rape two women on the day of his death and it’s interesting that the death of his girlfriend seems to tie in with the beginning of he rapes and his death ties in with the end of the rapes.

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