Rogue Cop Update
Prominent
in our last newsletter's report on battering cops was the face
of Darwin Kennedy. A former Rohnert Park Police officer, Kennedy
was convicted of domestic battery in August 2003, after pleading
guilty to pushing his way into the victim's house, grabbing her
by both arms, pulling her out of her apartment and slamming her
against the door or wall, bloodying her nose.
Since the
plea, he's had number of subsequent restraining order violations
involving threats, harassment and attempting to pressure the victim
to recant her statements. Finally, he was jailed on a probation
violation.
After a number
of hearings that can only be described as special treatment, Kennedy
was sentenced on September 24th by Judge Gary Nadler, the same
judge who presided over the CHP case.
Deputy DA
Bob Waner pleaded with the judge to "normalize" the
case and treat Kennedy like any other defendant. Instead, despite
the fact that Kennedy had called the victim a bitch in his probation
interview, Nadler's "punishment" was to put the ex-cop
back on probation.
Even
worse, ignoring the California penal code requirement that he
be put in an approved batterers' group treatment program, Nadler
allowed Kennedy to undergo private counseling instead. Apparently
Kennedy had gotten into a beef with the facilitator of the approved
program because of its "confrontational style." Seems
he was enraged at being called a stalker.
Had he then
been treated "like any other defendant," Kennedy would
have been dropped from the program, deemed inappropriate for probation,
and sent to jail, not allowed to hire a private counselor.
Nadler's decision
is even more shocking in light of the fact that counselor, Bonnie
Lyons, requested the court put a restraining order on the victim!
Kennedy, still in deep denial, claims he's the one being stalked,
not the reverse.
Won't be long before we see this guy back in court.
November 2004
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