Duke based initial gang-rape reactions on campus officer who eavesdropped on call

Durham Herald Sun ^ | 5/10/2006 | Ray Gronberg

[OakOak]

By Ray Gronberg : The Herald-Sun gronberg@heraldsun.com May 9, 2006 : 10:53 pm ET

DURHAM -- A March 14 Duke Police Department report that downplayed gang-rape allegations against the school's lacrosse team stemmed from what a Duke officer overheard while listening to a Durham Police Department sergeant's cell phone conversation, City Manager Patrick Baker said Tuesday.

The Duke officer, Christopher Day, never actually spoke to the sergeant or conducted any follow-up inquiry before telling his superiors that the woman at the center of the case had changed her story several times, and that her allegations were unlikely to produce serious charges, Baker said.

[OakOak]

Discredit would be more accurate... I was hurrying to get it posted !

[OakOak]

Clintons(smile)
I'm sure they've had the officer sign an affadavit by now

[OakOak]

They are approaching a denial here (or hanging the guy out to dry, as Susan Filan stated the strategy the DA/Police will take):

" Baker, however, said he didn't know where Day had gotten that information.

"I'm not aware of that at all," Baker said when asked if the woman had told Durham police she'd been attacked by 20 men."

[snarkytart]

Yes they are trying to discredit the report, but the DPD Sargent who said this can be questioned about it.
Still makes the accuser look bad.

[snarkytart]

Baker is a City Manager. What the heck is that and why isn't the Chief of Police the one answering the media questions?

[OakOak]

It is strange a city Manager would be answering that. City Managers handle everything from trash to planning. Sure seems strange he's inserting himself into criminal matters.

Good catch

[OakOak]

(Wendy) Murphy said: "Let's not forget, there was some DNA found at the scene, on the floor of the bathroom, on a towel in the bathroom, according to the defense attorneys it matched two of the guys on the team, two of the guys who live there. So you can bet that that is going to play a role.

"It doesn't necessarily prove a rape, but it sure goes far to prove that two men were in that bathroom at some point doing something."

LET'S HANG THEM

http://cbs2chicago.com/seenon/topstories_story_107150416.html

[Jezebelle]

Oh, well, yes, of course. That usually goes without saying, though. ;>

[Jezebelle]

Maybe he's the designated city government spokesman.

[OakOak]

How does Nifong reconcile the following statements with the NC state rules and dictates governing him (at bottom):

"The circumstances of the rape indicated a deep racial motivation for some of the things that were done. It makes a crime that is by its nature one of the most offensive and invasive even more so."
District Attorney Mike Nifong
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/29/sportsline/main1449886.shtml?CMP=ILC-SearchStories

"I still think that the racial slurs that were involved are relevant to show the mind-set, I guess, that was involved in this particular attack, and obviously, to make what is already an extremely reprehensible attack even more reprehensible."
-- Nifong to Harry Smith of CBS's "The Early Show" on March 30
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/431568.html

"He (Nifong)criticized team members for not cooperating with police, at one point using the term "a bunch of hooligans." He has been emphatic that he thinks the dancer was raped and that he has medical evidence and eyewitness testimony that will prove it. He has said that the racial slurs alleged to have been used against the dancers at the party made an "extremely reprehensible attack even more reprehensible." He has speculated that no DNA was recovered because the attackers may have used condoms. And he went on a cable news show and used his own arm to demonstrate how the alleged victim was choked."
http://www.newsobserver.com/1185/story/431568.html

A lawyer who is participating or has participated in the investigation or litigation of a matter shall not make an extrajudicial statement that the lawyer knows or reasonably should know will be disseminated by means of public communication and will have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the matter.
-- Rule 3.6 of the N.C. State Bar on Trial Publicity

Except for statements that are necessary to inform the public on the nature and extent of the prosecutor's action and that serve a legitimate law enforcement purpose, refrain from making extrajudicial comments that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused.
-- Rule 3.8 of the N.C. State Bar on the Special Responsibilities of a Prosecutor

[Protect the Bill of Rights]

I saw that...

FINALLY..someone said it out loud. I would pay for a front row seat to see him say it to Wendy & Nancy, LOL!

[maggief]

From another thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1628761/posts?page=302#302

To: maggief

The DPD was on record as of "Friday, March 17, 2006 10:16 AM" ...

"The Durham Police District 2 Criminal Investigations Violent Crimes Unit is conducting an investigation concerning a rape of a young woman by three males at 610 N. Buchanan that was reported on 3/14/06 in the early morning hours. The female arrived at the residence for a party close to 11:30pm on Monday 3/13/2006 and left on Tuesday 3/14/2006 reportedly after midnight. ..."

http://www.duke.edu/web/police/info/weekly/031906.htm
From Duke Police log:

2006-01259 3:08 a.m. 610 N. Buchanan
Assist Outside Agency:? Durham PD investigating a sexual assault by Duke students Pending


302 posted on 05/10/2006 12:55:29 AM CDT by Waterfall

[maggief]

The city manager? Why does he have his nose in this?

[maggief]

Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Mayor: Police didn't convey their doubts
He asks city manager to look into report of reaction in Duke case

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


DURHAM

Police did not tell city leaders that they had any concerns about the credibility of a woman who said she was raped at a party thrown by Duke University's lacrosse team, Mayor Bill Bell said yesterday.

Bell directed the city manager to ask police about a report released Monday by Duke, which concluded that the university's administration was slow to respond to the allegations in part because city police at first said that the accuser "kept changing her story and was not credible."

"If they just walked away from it and hadn't attempted to pursue further investigation, then that might merit some indication that they weren't taking it seriously," Bell said. "But as far as I know, they've been trying to investigate and get information."


http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137835978786&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099

[OakOak]

Maybe because he was viewed as someone from Outside the Police
division?

[pandoraou812]

She just turns my stomach. This whole case does. I can't watch her anymore.

[BunnySlippers]

Thanks for the ping. Wow!

[OakOak]

This is a Question:

Is the following statement accurate?

Police found Ms. Mangum's makeup kit, cell phone and ID at the party house. Her PURSE, WALLET, and money have not been recovered.

I'm trying to find out what Kim may have absconded with..

[GAgal]

Just in case someone doesn't know that Tucker Carlson was once falsely accused of rape:

http://www.equityfeminism.com/archives/years/2003/000062.html

[TexKat]

Duke report draws retort from Durham

Manager: Police took case seriously

Michael Biesecker, Staff Writer

DURHAM - Duke University administrators appear to have based their response to rape accusations against lacrosse players on a cell phone conversation overheard on a hospital loading dock.

An internal report filed by a Duke police officer March 14, shortly after a woman told emergency room workers she was raped, says the accuser initially said she was attacked by 20 men before changing it to three men.

It also indicates that city police were skeptical that a serious crime had occurred, though it does not say which Durham officer made that assessment.

City Manager Patrick Baker said Tuesday that the Duke police report is based on what a campus police officer overheard a low-ranking Durham officer say on a cell phone early that morning outside Duke Hospital. The criminal investigation has been handled by Durham police.

"Their officer did not speak to our officer," Baker said. "He appears to have overheard half a conversation, and he didn't follow up."

Duke released the March 14 campus police report Tuesday. That came a day after a study found that Duke administrators were slow to act because their initial internal police report indicated Durham officers had said only misdemeanor charges were likely.

Baker, who spoke with police officials Tuesday about the chain of events, bristled at the implication that city officers did not believe the accuser. He said that the incident was classified as a sexual assault about 30 minutes after the woman arrived at the hospital and that investigators were quickly put on the case.

"Any assertion that the Durham Police Department didn't take this case seriously or indicated that it would blow over is completely contradicted by the facts and our actions," Baker said.

Baker said he has never received any indication that the woman said she was raped by 20 men or that she changed her story.

"I have no idea where that came from," Baker said. "I've had a lot of conversations with the investigators in this case and with officials at Duke, and at no time did anyone indicate the accuser changed her story. If that were true, I'm sure someone would have mentioned it to me."

Meanwhile, defense lawyers for the two lacrosse players arrested last month on rape and kidnapping charges said the Duke police report will help their case.

"The prosecuting witness has given a number of versions of what happened," said Wade Smith, an attorney for accused player Collin Finnerty. "It seems to me that this is an important moment in the case."

District Attorney Mike Nifong has declined to discuss the Duke report.

The one-page form says the woman, an escort-service dancer hired to perform at a team party that began March 13, was taken to the emergency room about 3 a.m. the next day by Durham police. It is the policy of The News & Observer not to disclose the names of those who report they were sexually assaulted.

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