My friend just came over with a pretty dreadful story. One of her employees called today to say he would be late for work. Let’s call him Joe, although this is not his real name.
No problem. Joe is one of her most reliable employees. He works 2 jobs and drives an older car. He was coming in to Manassas from the Fair Oaks area and was in the process of getting a ticket for going 7 miles over the speed limit.
As the Fairfax County officer walked away from the car, after giving him the ticket, he uttered the words, “Learn the rules of the road, Spic.”
This employee is Italian! His last name ends in ‘O’
Joe came into work in Manassas late, speechless, and in shock. He said he had never had anything like this happen to him.
Fairfax County needs to do better. This would never happen in Prince William County. Our officers are far more professional than this Fairfax officer. This is, however, what happens when certain groups are so vilified and demonized that people begin to think behavior of this nature is acceptable. This incident appears to have gone beyond racial profiling.
He was a very well-regarded police officer, Moon-howler. There were a lot of people who could not believe that he was capable of such a thing. His reputation doesn’t seem to have suffered much. I wonder how many women look at properties alone with him and have no idea who he is?
Emma and Moon-howler,
Be aware of your surroundings and to have not have full trust in PEOPLE would be a good start.It is SAD what I just stated, as we all want to trust and have people trust us but this is how such things occur. Just like they use to teach about stranger danger, it had to be taught that it is not just strangers,it can be family or friends that get close because of trust. I guess thats why “in God we trust” is printed and not people or politicians 🙁 – sorry, couldn’t resist the politicians 🙂
Emma,
I suspect the judge was not necessarily protecting ‘Buck’ Carter with that ruling as much as he was protecting the system. If he had thrown the book at Buckboy, then the next time some badge broke the law, people would expect him/her to also be severely punished. The machinery of the system is geared to protect itself.
Or perhaps the judge was concerned that if ‘Buck’ went to jail, ‘Buck’ would meet ‘Bubba’. And ‘Bubba’ would turn ‘Buck’s’ rear end into his personal pin cushion. Considering what ‘Buck’ did to countless women, it would be hard to deny that justice was served.
Red Dawn,
Here’s a photo of the guy in case anybody is out looking for a house:
http://www.homesandland.com/Real_Estate/VA/City/Manassas/Agents/Detail/108878.html
You won’t have to worry so much about “stranger danger” if you at least know who to look out for. Consider this a public service.
I was trying to find him on the national sex offender web site but it looks like he isn’t listed. Was he actually convicted of rape?
I did happen to find out that we have 205 sex offenders in PWC.
Mackie, here is the full text of the article:
Ex-Trooper Sentenced For Soliciting Sex Bribe – Former Standout Officer Apologizes
By Josh White – Washington Post Staff Writer – Friday, September 20, 2002; Page B01
A former Virginia state trooper who dropped drunken driving charges against a woman in exchange for sex will have to perform 3,500 hours of community service and spend two days in jail every January for seven years as part of his sentence imposed by a Prince William County judge yesterday.
William A. “Buck” Carter, 42, apologized for his actions before Circuit Court Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. in his first public comments since his arrest.
“There has been a lot of soul-searching of myself regarding what happened and why it happened,” Carter said in court, his wife and friends sitting a few feet away. “I’ve come to the conclusion that I didn’t really love myself. . . . I’m beginning to learn things I should have learned years ago. I need to change, and I’ve just begun.”
Carter pleaded guilty in May to one count of bribery for soliciting sex from a 20-year-old woman he had stopped for drunken driving Jan. 9. Carter arranged to take the woman to his Manassas area real estate office for the encounter.
Carter was arrested in April, after he failed to bring the woman’s charges to court. Although Carter had won accolades for his efforts to combat drunken driving — including a 98 percent conviction rate — the investigation into Carter’s arrests showed a pattern of alleged misconduct, specifically against young women.
Over the past six months, more than a dozen women have come forward alleging that Carter stalked them at bars, then embarrassed and berated them during traffic stops.
“I have had numerous nightmares of officer Carter chasing me and taunting me,” one woman arrested by Carter in the days before the Jan. 9 encounter said in an interview. “I’m petrified to drive at night alone. I feel as if the people paid to protect me have violated my safety.”
Prosecutors said they have found several cases of apparent official misconduct, but Carter has not been charged in additional incidents.
Sources close to the case said federal authorities are investigating allegations that Carter may be responsible for civil rights violations, and a state police probe has turned up evidence that Carter used his cruiser for sexual liaisons, sometimes while on duty.
Carter’s arrest came nearly a year after an internal investigation determined that more than 50 percent of Carter’s drunken driving arrests involved women, far above the average of local police departments and other state police, who arrest women in fewer than 20 percent of their cases. But state police took no action.
“He was one of the best of the best of the Virginia State Police,” said Carter’s attorney, Manuel Capsalis. “This is a scarlet letter forever emblazoned on Mr. Carter. Unfortunately for Mr. Carter, it will be what is remembered of his career, not his 18 years of exemplary service.”
Prosecutors recommended no jail time for Carter and instead suggested that he be put on probation, satisfied that the felony conviction ensures that he’ll never be a police officer in Virginia again and that he will lose his real estate license.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Richard A. Conway said he also wanted to spare the victim from testifying, saying that she has been emotionally devastated.
“The actions he took certainly cannot be tolerated,” Conway said. “The defendant has not only brought disgrace to himself, but also disrepute to the Virginia State Police.”
State police officials said Carter has left a scar.
“The Trooper Carter that we saw was an excellent trooper with a spotless record,” said Lucy Caldwell, a state police spokeswoman. “But somewhere along the line, something very deeply personal and private must have gone wrong, and none of us ever knew. When the problem surfaced and affected the public, it had to be seriously dealt with, and we’ll all move on.”
The victim’s attorney said the woman is satisfied with the sentence because it means that Carter won’t ever carry a badge again.
“She wanted to be sure that he would not be in a position to repeat this kind of conduct with someone else,” said Manassas lawyer Daniel J. Morissette.
Alston chastised Carter for “undermining his oath” and destroying a stellar career. He pointed out that more than a dozen drunken driving cases were thrown out after Carter’s arrest, along with dozens of other traffic-related cases.
The judge’s unique sentence will require Carter to do 500 hours of community service each year for the next seven years — the equivalent of about three months of full-time work each year. For the next seven years, Carter also has to report to jail every Jan. 9 for two days, marking the anniversary of his crime. Alston also required Carter to write a public apology to be printed in newspapers, and Carter must receive treatment for a sex addiction disorder. Alston suspended a 10-year prison sentence.
“This is one of the most difficult sentencings I’ve had to deal with,” said Alston, the only black judge in Prince William County, who said that as a defense lawyer he admired Carter for being an upright black state trooper. “This is a dark day. . . . It’s an embarrassment to your family, to the fraternal brotherhood of police officers, to your race and to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
Emma, I wish you would mail that article to the real estate company where he works. He should not be trusted with the public.
I’m sure they already know, since he was pretty well-known in real estate while he was a state trooper. I just would not deal with Remax, since they have no problem with hiring agents who are sexual predators.
Moon-howler,
That might be construed as stalking or harassment which is illegal. He may no longer wear a badge but the system still protects it’s own. As much as you may not like it, this guy already had his day in court. So at least there was some accountability.
However, I wish you had such an open-information attitude when it came to warning us about racist police who still wear a badge and still give vent to their racism under ‘the color of the law’.