Remember the sexting case in which the cops wanted a picture of a 17 yr old's penis?

[phill4paul]

Cop Who Sought Photos of Teen’s Erection in Sexting Case Commits Suicide Moments Before Arrest
The cop was the sexual predator, not the teen.

Police Detective David Edward Abbott, a member of the Northern Virginia-Washington D.C. Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, committed suicide Tuesday before law enforcement could arrest him on suspicion of sexually abusing minors.

Abbott, you will recall, was the detective in the noteworthy teen sexting case from July 2014, in which the authorities sought a warrant to take the 17-year-old male suspect to the hospital, inject him with a drug that would give him an erection, photograph his genitals, and compare the photo with existing pictures of his genitals the police had confiscated from his 15-year-old girlfriend’s phone.

The teen was eventually sentenced to one year of probation. Here’s the kicker: Abbott sued the teen’s lawyer for defamation. The lawyer, Jessica Foster, remarked to the media that the warrant to take pornographic pictures of her client—to be used as evidence that he was guilty of creating child pornography—was “crazy.”

“Who does this?” Foster had said. “It’s just crazy.”

Abbott said the comments caused him severe emotional distress; he claimed he was threatened and called a pedophile, according to NBC.

Authorities now believe Abbott was a pedophile. He had inappropriate contact with two young boys, ages 11 and 13, according to patch.com. Police attempted to arrest him at his home earlier today, but he refused to surrender and eventually shot himself.

While this outcome is certainly a tragedy for his family, the revelations about Abbott should underscore two things: His treatment of the 17-year-old in the sexting case was unconscionable, and laws criminalizing sexting between teens are intrusive and easily abused. There actually was a truly depraved sexual monster in this case, it just wasn’t the teenager.

https://reason.com/blog/2015/12/15/c...teens-erection

[staerker]

...he claimed he was threatened and called a pedophile...

What else do you call drugging, and raping a "minor"?

[osan]

Now he's a good cop.

[TheTexan]

He died in an Officer involved shooting. So tragic.

Training his replacement is going to be expensive. He was apparently very good.

[Origanalist]

While this outcome is certainly a tragedy for his family

If he was a member of my family the tragedy would be that I was related to him.

[kcchiefs6465]

Good riddance.

[phill4paul]

Good riddance.

[SeanTX]

They are officially mourning the "loss" on their Facebook page :

https://www.facebook.com/ManassasPD/

Manassas City Police Department
23 hrs ·
**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
MCPD Grieves for Loss, Victims, and their Families
Dec. 15, 2015

Manassas City Police Department is mourning the loss of one of our officers, who took his own life at his home in Prince William County early today. On Dec. 14, 2015, Manassas City Police was notified by Prince William County Police that an allegation of criminal misconduct was made against a Manassas City Police Officer. The Officer was identified as Det. D. E. Abbott, Jr., who was assigned to the Northern Virginia-Washington, DC (NOVA-DC ICAC) Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.
While Manassas City Police fully cooperated and assisted Prince William County Police with its investigation into the allegations, Manassas City Police played no direct role in interviewing Det. Abbott about the charges prior to his taking his own life on the morning of Dec. 15, 2015. Through their investigation, Prince William County Police obtained felony warrants for Indecent Liberties with a Minor (X2) and Use of a Communications Device to Solicit a Minor (X2) against Det. Abbott. Prince William County Police is still heavily involved in investigating the allegations to ensure justice and that victim assistance is made available for any potential victims and their families.
This is a tragic and sad day for the Abbott family, the juvenile victims and their families, the Manassas City Police Department, and our community. In spite of these recent developments regarding the serious allegations against him, we are grateful for the contributions Det. Abbott made during his time with Manassas City Police, to include the prosecution and conviction of hundreds of criminals. His family and peers request privacy during this time as we grieve and struggle to accept the realities of such a loss.
##

[phill4paul]

They are officially mourning the "loss" on their Facebook page :

https://www.facebook.com/ManassasPD/

Disgusting.

[osan]

Disgusting.

I just let the m have it. If in the coming week or two I suddenly stop showing up, you will know why.

[SeanTX]

I just let the m have it. If in the coming week or two I suddenly stop showing up, you will know why.

Well, people have been put in shackles and cages just for hurting cop's feelings on their Facebook pages -- it's even brought on a home invasion or two.

[Mani]

He's finally keeping people safe...By not existing anymore.

[kcchiefs6465]

Thanks for the bump. A true feel good story in a sea of bad news.

[RPfan1992]

Scary that people on this website called Arsetechnica were sympathizing with this cop.

[kcchiefs6465]

Scary that people on this website called Arsetechnica were sympathizing with this cop.

The website or people commenting?

[Spikender]

Yeah, it was hard to tell before that he was a pedophile. I mean, who would've known that a detective who wanted to strap down a teen, drug him up, and take pictures of his junk to play a game of spot the difference would be a pedophile? Now that he's gone and shot himself, I guess we finally have concrete, rock hard proof.

[osan]

I guess we finally have concrete, rock hard proof.

Apparently that was not the only thing that was "rock hard".

My question is: how can we encourage police to engage in more of this behavior, which is to say to recognize when they have pooched something seriously and to then do the right thing, as did this valiant officer?

[SeanTX]

My question is: how can we encourage police to engage in more of this behavior, which is to say to recognize when they have pooched something seriously and to then do the right thing, as did this valiant officer?

Usually not only will they not off themselves, most corrupt cops will fight tooth and nail to keep their badge. I think even that rapist cop in Oklahoma City was fighting to get his job back before he was found guilty. It just shows that the job mostly attracts sociopaths.

[timosman]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...g-court-finds/

4th Circuit: We can’t “perceive any circumstance that would justify” such a search.

CYRUS FARIVAR - 12/6/2017

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in favor of a Virginia man who, as a teen, was once ordered by a lower court to be photographed while masturbating in the presence of armed police officers.
That warrant was ostensibly part of an ongoing sexting investigation into the then-teen, Trey Sims, who had exchanged explicit messages with his then-15-year-old girlfriend. Her mother reported the incident to the Manassas City Police Department in January 2014.

Eventually, the detective assigned to the case, David Abbott, obtained a signed warrant to take photographs of Sims' naked body—including "the suspect’s erect penis"—so that he could compare them to Sims' explicit messages.

When this bizarre effort was unsuccessfully attempted, Abbott then obtained a second warrant authorizing police to escort Sims to a hospital for an "erection-inducing injection." This injection ultimately never took place after massive public outcry.

Abbott committed suicide in December 2015 when officers came to arrest him on separate charges relating to pedophilia.

Ultimately, Sims served one year of probation. By early 2016, Sims sued Abbott's estate, alleging violations of the Fourth Amendment, among other accusations.

Lawyers representing the Abbott estate argued that their client was shielded by "qualified immunity," the notion in American law that generally protects law enforcement officers in gray-area situations from legal liability.
In a 2-1 majority opinion, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals found Tuesday that the initial warrant against Sims was an "obvious, unconstitutional violation."

The 4th Circuit ruled that Sims' lawsuit against the estate of the now-deceased officer who had led the sexting investigation, David Abbott, could move forward. "We cannot perceive any circumstance that would justify a police search requiring an individual to masturbate in the presence of others," two of the 4th Circuit judges wrote. "Sexually invasive searches require that the search bear some discernible relationship with safety concerns, suspected hidden contraband, or evidentiary need."

The case will now be sent back down to a federal district court in Alexandria, Virginia.

[Brian4Liberty]

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...g-court-finds/

obtained a signed warrant to take photographs of Sims' naked body

The person who signed the warrant was supposed to be the adult in the room (i.e. responsible for knowing the law and upholding the Constitution). Relatively speaking, that person is more responsible and culpable than the dead cop.

[sparebulb]

In a 2-1 majority opinion, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals found Tuesday that the initial warrant against Sims was an "obvious, unconstitutional violation."

Obviously not obvious, given a judge approved the warrant and this vote was only one vote away from being 2-1 in affirming this perverted nonsense.

[phill4paul]

The person who signed the warrant was supposed to be the adult in the room (i.e. responsible for knowing the law and upholding the Constitution). Relatively speaking, that person is more responsible and culpable than the dead cop.

Absolutely. Not that the cop is exculpable, but the judge that signed off is equally as guilty and not protected under "qualified immunity." Let the lawsuit proceed. I'm sure that judge has more assets than the cop.