Another Brutal Assault
You’ve probably already heard about how Hope Steffey of Canton, Ohio called 911 for help after being assaulted, and instead of receiving aid was arrested and then assaulted by seven sheriff’s deputies who stripped her naked and left her without clothing for six hours.
Since I live far from Ohio, there’s not much I can do, but I have written two polite letters demanding that these deputies be arrested and tried for assault. One I have sent to the sheriff, the other to the county prosecutor.
Here is their contact info:
Timothy A. Swanson, Stark County Sheriff, 4500 Atlantic Blvd. NE, Canton, OH 44705-4374; phone: 330-430-3800.
John D. Ferrero, Stark County Prosecutor, 110 Central Plaza South, suite 510, Canton, OH 44702-1413; phone: 330-451-7897.
With any luck, someone living in or near Stark County, Ohio will take some direct action to agitate for the prosecution of the uniformed animals who assaulted Hope Steffey. In the meantime, Swanson and Ferrero at least need to know that we view these deputies as criminals.
Here is the text of my letter to the county prosecutor:
Mr. Ferrero,
By now I am sure that you have seen the horrific video of the Hope Steffey incident. I understand that you are reluctant to press charges against people you are used to thinking of as members of the same team, but if you are a man of honor—and I hope you are—then you will do your duty as county prosecutor and see that justice is done in this matter. If there were video of seven people not employed by the government doing to Hope Steffey what these sheriff’s deputies did, is there any doubt that they would at this moment be behind bars facing charges of assault? If you believe in rule of law, then it is clear what you must do: charge those seven deputies with assault and see that they face trial for their crime. Anything less amounts to a declaration that, in Stark County, “law enforcement” officers are above the law.
February 14th, 2008 at 10:10 pm
You are right on the money - if this were anyone other than police officers, they would already be in jail. It is unconscionable that the Stark County Sheriff is trying to explain why this happened. Anyone who condones this strip search is as guilty as those who participated in it.