Austin Police Confirm These Are Cops Making Rape Jokes on Video
The Austin, Tex. Police Department is investigating two officers for joking about rape in a dashcam video posted to YouTube earlier this week. After the video made the local news, APD confirmed the recording is authentic and that the men you hear in it are actually cops.
The relevant section opens with the two officers joking that if they were allowed to "ride out" for a week, "shit would get real for the bad guys" and world peace would be established. Or it would just seem that way, because they'd ignore every crime report:
Officer 1: Either that, or, you'd think that because we'd turn a blind eye towards everything.
Officer 2: Or that.
Officer 1: Fuck it, who cares.
Officer 2: Or that. It could be that.
Officer 1: I want to report a robbery! You probably deserved it.
Nice guys. At this point, according to the YouTube uploader, "an attractive female" passes by their car. You can hear one of the cops say something about a rape whistle. Then this:
Officer 1: Look at that girl over there.
Officer 2: (blows whistle) Go ahead and call the cops. They can't unrape you. (laughter)
Officer 1: You didn't turn your camera off, did you?
Officer 2: They can't unrape you.
No, he did not turn off the camera, which meant that footage of the rape joke was available through an open records request and quickly made its way on Austin NBC station KXAN.
The department, which hasn't named the two officers, responded with the following statement:
Upon learning of the video's contents, the Department immediately launched an internal investigation. The investigation will include a comprehensive audit of the involved officers' contacts with victims of sexual assault to ensure the actions taken during the contacts meet the expectations of the Department, the public and most importantly, the victims. Upon conclusion of the investigation, the Department will take appropriate corrective action.
APD extends a heartfelt apology to all victims of sexual assault. The comments made by the officers are contrary to the long-standing commitment of the Department to bring compassionate justice to sexual assault victims.
As Culturemap Austin notes, this is just the latest in a series of issues for the Austin PD. The city called for a Department of Justice investigation into police practices after an officer-involved shooting last July.