It would appear that Sarah Palin has a problem with Rape. In addition to not supporting the availability of Abortion for victims of Rape, Mayor Sarah Palin, Maverick, Fiscal Conservative, also had citizens of Wasilla pick up the bill for their own forensics tests. Hat Tip Americablog.
The Frontiersman / May 23, 2000
Gov. Tony Knowles recently signed legislation protecting victims of sexual assault from being billed for tests to collect evidence of the crime, but one local police chief said the new law will further burden taxpayers.
While the Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies have covered the cost of exams, which cost between $300 to $1,200 apiece, the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests.
Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon does not agree with the new legislation, saying the law will require the city and communities to come up with more funds to cover the costs of the forensic exams.
Words don't adequately describe this offense.
Digg
Sarah Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002. Whether this practice started before she was mayor, it's unclear. From the article, they quote the chief of Palmer, a neighboring city with similar values.
Palmer police chief Laren Zager said that to his knowledge, no sexual assault victim has ever been billed by the city of Palmer for an exam to collect evidence of a crime. Zager, who has been police chief since January, said he would never expect a victim to be burdened with the cost of a police investigation.
Im prepared to pay every dime in an investigation. As long as I am chief, I would never bill a victim, Zager said.
Fannon claims that it's the city's intention to ultimately have the charges paid as part of restitution by the convicted criminal, but as you likely know, rape crimes are rarely convicted. Infact, in 2000, Wasilla reported one rape as part of their crime statistics. You'll note above that each victim would be charged $300 - $1200 per test/kit. Yet, the kits cost Tax payers $5,000 to $14,000 PER YEAR! Suggesting that Chief Fannon had a very low conviction rate.
At one point in the past, Wasilla charged the costs to the victim's insurance company.
However, in 2000, From Sarah's appointed Police Chief, one of her qualifying executive decisions...
I just dont want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer, Fannon said.
Remember it was Mayor Palin who fired the previous chief when he attempted to:
A. Close bars in Wasilla at 2am instead of 5am due to drunk driving incidents
B. Reduce hand gun conceilment to protect his officers
Sarah's Chief Fannon then was:
- Pro- Drunk Driving
- Anti-Police safety
- Pro-Charging Rape Victims for their OWN TESTS!!!
This needs to get out into the media folks... I think this blog broke the story.
Update: Connection between Fallon and Palin, She hired him...
Police Chief Accused Palin of Politically-Motivated Firing. "Wasilla got a new police chief Thursday, one who said he will bring to the job a philosophy of personal freedom that doesn't include his predecessor's support of limiting bar hours…'I don't think the answer to crime is restricting people's freedom more and more.' Fannon is replacing Irl Stambaugh, whom the mayor fired in January. Palin said she did not think Stambaugh supported her administration...Stambaugh has sued the city, alleging Palin fired him because local bar owners and the National Rifle Association asked the mayor to do so. Stambaugh wanted the city to adopt earlier bar closings as a way to combat alcohol-related traffic accidents, according to the complaint." [Anchorage Daily News, 3/28/97]
Also, she got him promoted.
Palin Chaired Campaign for Mat-Su Mayor that Involved Methane Exploration While on OGC, Said there Was No Conflict Because The Mayor’s Race Was Non-Partisan. “This fall Palin was the chair of Charlie Fannon’s unsuccessful campaign for Mat-Su Borough mayor. A central issue in the race was proposals by Denver-based Evergreen Resources Inc. to explore for coal bed methane on 300,000 acres of state gas leases in the Mat-Su. Fannon was more of a coal bed supporter than his opponent was. Palin’s commission would regulate Evergreen’s drilling. That’s not a conflict of interest, she said Friday. Palin said her position on Fannon’s campaign wasn’t comparable to Ruedrich’s with the political party. The Mat-Su mayor’s race was nonpartisan, and so it falls outside the scope of the state ethics act, Palin said. She also agreed to serve on Fannon’s campaign months before the uproar over gas exploration started.” [Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), 11/8/03]
Plausible deniability? In a town the size of Wasilla?