No charges against Mesa police in fetus flushing

Assoc. Press ^ | 07/16/2009

[Responsibility2nd]

PHOENIX (AP) -- Prosecutors in Arizona won't file charges against five Mesa police officers for their role in flushing a stillborn fetus down a toilet.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office determined a crime wasn't committed last month when an officer flushed the 4-inch fetus down a toilet in a motel room.

~snip~

Officers and Mesa fire personnel responded in June to a Motel 6, where they found a woman had miscarried. One of the officers photographed the fetus, which fire officials reportedly declined to take, then flushed it.

[the long march]

And it is illegal to bru wioth out the proper permits. We aren’t talking here about what the sympathetic heart wants done. The story is about whether criminal charges should have been filed against police officers.

[the long march]

and that should read “...bury without...”

[null and void]

I’d have wrapped it in a paper towel and buried in in my backyard before I’d have deliberately flushed it down the toilet. I mean, come on, that was once a person.

That is probably illegal. Seriously.

[B-Chan]

I don’t care.

[discostu]

It should have at least gone to the hospital for standard bio-hazard disposal like they would an amputated limb. You don’t put human body parts in the sewer system.

[null and void]

Police department slogans:

LAPD: “We’ll treat you like a [Rodney] King”

Mesa PD: “We treat babies like crap” (I cleaned that one up a little)...

[the long march]

I don’t disagree with you on that point. All my point was was that most guys in blue don’t have a lot of training in this area. The article is about the decision to NOT file criminal charges. That is ALL the article is about. Everyone can get on their high horse all they want but bio-haz disposal is NOT a large part of POST.

[discostu]

It’s improper disposal of bio-waste, I’m kind of surprised they didn’t at least get hit with a fine. Not too long ago there was a HUGE to-do down here in Tucson when somebody found a new/still born in the trash in my neighborhood. Vast numbers of cops (I went to the gym that morning and had to navigate around about a dozen cop cars, labeled and plain) to eventually figure out it was the teenager in the house that trash can belonged to and then to figure out if the baby was alive when “disposed”. She eventually got at least fined, and yet when a cop does something similar it’s apparently no big deal. These kind of double standards aren’t good for the country, cops should be held to a higher standard than civilians, not lower. All these guys had to do was call forensics and let them handle it, and I think they actually get quite a bit of training in how to deal with body parts, most of which probably revolves around “call forensics and let them handle it”.

[the long march]

You don’t know if they called anyone from “forensics” or the coroners. The article doesnt say. That is the problem with popping off on stories that are incomplete. We do not know. And with the level of journalism these days we may never know.

And by the way, I know you think that the police should be held to a higher standard which says something about you. I think they ought to do their job, be decent human beings, and not embarass their families.

[discostu]

They flushed it. We know they didn’t, or if they did they ignored what they were told. Nobody who’s actually taken the time talk to somebody who professionally deals with human parts at a crime scene will flush them.

Being held to higher standards is part of doing their job, being decent human beings and not embarrassing their families. When you are the uniformed representative of law and order in a society you need to behave as such. Just like how fire fighters shouldn’t be the guy spraying the family grill with lighter fluid when it’s already lit, and electricians shouldn’t be turning outlets into octopi, cops should be following the laws. Making the profession look good by not doing something stupid like flushing bio-waste down the toilet is part of the job, and I’m betting their families were embarrassed when this story broke.

[the long march]

blah bllah blah......Police do not routinely deal “professionally” with body parts. Get your panties out of the bunch they are in. It is unbecoming and so uncomfortable —— throw the first stone etc

[discostu]

That’s all you’ve got? Insults. These police did NOT deal with the fetus in a professional manner. hey did something that at the very least would have gotten a normal citizen fined for improper disposal of biowaste. Sorry if you can’t see that. Funny the guy throwing the first insult talking about who should throw the first stone.