YWCA Clark County responds to charges against Vancouver Police officer
YWCA Clark County Chief Executive Officer Brittini Lasseigne issues the following statement after a Vancouver Police Department (VPD) officer was charged with assault after exposing a person's genitals and threatening them with a taser:“YWCA Clark County expects our law enforcement officials to keep our community safe and refrain from tactics that are sexually exploitative and barbaric. We condemn the officer’s appalling actions, which demonstrated a disregard for humanity, a significant lack of professionalism and respect for community members. At YWCA Clark County, we uphold values of peace, justice, freedom and dignity for all. We are severely concerned about unjust treatment of anyone in our community. We stand in solidarity with Chief Jeff Mori’s emphasis on the expectation that all personnel should serve the public with professionalism, compassion, and respect at all times. We appreciate the use of body cameras in keeping law enforcement officers accountable, and support the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in filing Assault IV charges against the involved officer. After years of conversation about keeping law enforcement accountable, we applaud the decisive and quick action taken by the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office to issue charges. We implore the VPD to remove this harmful individual from their staff as an effort to rebuild trust and keep our community safe.Police officers who use severe force, especially when of a sexually exploitative nature, should not be entrusted to protect our community. We advocate for the Vancouver Police Officer’s Guild to maintain integrity and accountability in any engagement with the offending officer, considering the severity of the incident and the possible intersection with racial bias.”
Background
Vancouver Police Department (VPD) released a statement detailing the recent charges brought against one of their officers due to their disturbing behavior during an encounter with a citizen on May 21, 2023. During the incident, the VPD officer used excessive force, and threatened to hurt the citizen’s genitals with a Taser device beyond reasonable means of lawful apprehension. This resulted in the individual involved stating they were unable to breathe and receiving medical attention.