NYPD Captain Says Some Rape Cases Are More Troubling Than Others

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by Amna El Tawil
 
Whenever you read or hear that someone was raped, you immediately think how horrible it is. It’s a horrific crime that scars every woman for life takes away her sense of security and has a deep impact on her mental and emotional health. When you’re reading news about someone being raped, you don’t categorize these cases to the ones that matter and those that aren’t troubling. Even the word rape itself is troubling, the entire act even more so. However, to one NYPD captain, not all rape cases are the same and while some of them are terrifying, others aren’t!
 
According to the DNAInfo, a news website covering New York City neighborhood news, Captain Peter Rose of the New York City police department’s 94th precinct said: “Every rape should be investigated. I wish we could do more. It really becomes a balancing act for the investigators. Some of them were Tinder, some of them were hookup sites, and some of them were actually coworkers. It’s not a trend that we’re too worried about because out of 13 [sex attacks], only two were true stranger rapes.”
 
Then, he added: “If there’s a true stranger rape, a random guy picks up a stranger off the street, those are the troubling ones. That person has, like, no moral standards.”
 
Captain Rose also described why date rape, for instance, is different than “real stranger rape” saying: “They’re not total-abomination rapes where strangers are being dragged off the streets.”
 
His comments raised more than a few eyebrows mostly from people who’re concerned with the fact that a policeman, a protector of victims, could even say such a thing. Jane Manning of the National Organization for Women said: “The idea that ‘this isn’t some guy who’s dangerous to women,’ that in itself is a major window into the mentality that we are up against. If you have the commander of a precinct making comments like that, he’s setting a tone for all the officers of a unit about how seriously to take acquaintance rape cases.”
 
The NYPD immediately released a statement: “Captain Rose’s comments did not properly explain the complexity of issues involved with investigating rape complaints. Every report of rape is thoroughly investigated by specially trained detectives in the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit. All complaints of rape and other types of sexual crimes are taken seriously whether they are committed by domestic partners, acquaintances, or strangers. Due to the anonymous and random nature of rapes committed by strangers, detectives often face greater challenges in these types of crimes. Regardless, all sexual offenses are taken seriously.”
 
However, Twitter was flooded with users’ comments slamming NYPD and Captain Rose for his unacceptable statement.
 


 
Captain Rose posted his apology on Twitter: “I deeply regret the statements I made last week about rape,” he wrote. “I failed to communicate accurately how I respond to reports of rape, and the actions the Department as a whole takes. My comments were not meant to minimize the seriousness of sexual assault. Every rape, whether it is perpetrated by a stranger or someone known to them is fully investigated. We make no distinction in response. My comments suggested otherwise and for that I apologize.”