We see this sort of thing happen too
often. Another corrupt cop, Darrion
Holiwell, age 49, a deputy with King County in Washington (Seattle) has been
charged with a major theft from his employer, using and distributing illegal
drugs (to include steroids), and promoting a prostitution business involving his wife. Holiwell is currently being held in the King
County Jail with bail set at $150,000.
In the grand scheme of criminal endeavors,
Holiwell’s alleged crimes aren’t that big of a deal.
Crime-wise, his offenses are undistinguished. He is in the same league as countless other
two-bit criminals. Nonetheless, he
portends to be a police officer; and he has betrayed the public trust. If convicted, he deserves to be made an
example and should receive the commensurate punishment; a punishment, so to
speak, on steroids.
Holiwell has apparently been involved in thefts
and other crimes for quite some time.
But, reportedly, this all came as a big surprise to the Sheriff and his
supervisory staff. The cat was let out
of the bag when Holiwell’s wife started talking to one of Holiwell’s previous
wives about her current abuse at the hands of Deputy Holiwell. The prior wife reported that conversation to
someone she knew at the Sheriff’s Office – and an inquiry was belatedly
initiated. As they might say, at that
point, the stuff hit the fan.
This reminded me of a case, years back, when I
was a deputy sheriff. The SO arrested
five or six men for Statutory Rape, later reduced to Contributing to the
Delinquency of a Minor. It involved a
fifteen-year-old girl. I happened to see
the girl in the office on one occasion.
She certainly didn’t look fifteen – somewhat older – but that is,
under law, not particularly relevant.
One of the men arrested was a member of the local police
department. The others were mostly young
men in their late teens or early twenties.
Each of the young men ultimately was convicted and received
probation. The cop, on the other hand,
upon conviction, was sentenced to three years in the Oregon State Penitentiary. As I recall the judge lectured the police
officer on ‘trust’ and that law enforcement officers should always be held to a
higher standard or suffer the consequences.
It is an imperative that the public has trust in their law enforcement
personnel. And, in fact, for law
enforcement personnel, it is sometimes not enough to be honest – the public
must also perceive them to be honest, which requires a higher level of personal
conduct.
Most current and former law enforcement
personnel have honored that trust; but many have not. For those criminally inclined cops, the
consequences should be severe, and in the above described instance (for the
police officer) they were.
However, I wanted to make another point;
perhaps, a more important consideration in the King County Sheriff’s Office
investigation.
To be continued…
True Nelson
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