Over at Cato’s Police Misconduct web site, we’ve selected the worst case for October:



So for October, it was Atlantic City Police Officer Sterling Wheaton. Recall that David Castellani had exchanged words with police outside a casino. Those officers took Castellani to the ground. Officer Wheaton then arrives on the scene and he immediately releases his dog to attack Castellani, who is still on the ground. The dog proceeds to bite Castellani’s head and neck.





The runner up goes to the Houston police officer who raped a handcuffed woman in the backseat of his patrol car. Responding to a fender bender, officer Adan Carranza handcuffed and arrested the victim and then waited for the other drivers involved in the accident to leave. The victim said Carranza, wearing his gun and badge, then raped her in the back of the patrol car before driving her to jail for a reckless driving charge. DNA evidence from the victim and back seat confirm the allegations, and Carranza has pled guilty—but only to attempted sexual assault. Carranza’s lawyer is hopeful his client will be paroled after only two or three years of his ten year sentence, of which he could serve as little as six months if a judge agrees to “shock probation.” One has to wonder how many rapists get that kind of deal.