By Ray Downs
The woman who alleges she was
raped at gunpoint by a Boynton Beach Police officer has filed a lawsuit that
holds no punches against the beleaguered police department.
Back in October, Boynton Beach
Police Officer Stephen Maiorino was charged with armed sexual battery, armed
kidnapping, and unlawful compensation or reward for official behavior after he
allegedly forced a woman to perform oral sex on him or else go to jail.
Afterward, the woman says he continued the assault on the hood of his patrol
car as he held a gun in his hand.
Maiorino has since been
arrested for the gruesome accusations and faces criminal charges. The Boynton
Beach Police Department has said he will be fired. And now the alleged victim
is suing the city for allowing Mairoino to remain on the force, despite having
a sketchy history, according to the lawsuit.
"Maiorino's internal
affairs file contains numerous complaints, incidents, and findings that alerted
the city to a need for additional discipline, training, and supervision,"
the lawsuit states.
Among the incidents cited is a
2010 accusation that Maiorino used excessive force to arrest a man, stole
$4,000 from the scene, and illegally seized a surveillance camera that would
have recorded what happened. But the BBPD found the excessive force and theft claims
unfounded. As for the camera, the BBPD says Maiorino didn't "intentionally
interfere" with the man's rights, but they did find the cop guilty of
wrongdoing for not having a warrant for the camera and then taking 11 days to
hand it over to investigators. The department also found inaccuracies in
Maiorino's filed report.
The lawsuit goes on to list two
more complaints of excessive force, including pointing a gun at a man's head
during a traffic stop before searching the car and driving away when nothing
was found. There are also two internal reprimands: one for neglecting his duty
while on the clock by ducking into an apartment for 30 minutes and another for
making a detour for "personal reasons" while transporting a prisoner.
"These repeated 'red
flags' demanded far greater supervision and intervention from the city,"
the lawsuit says.
But attorneys for the alleged
victim say that's not what happened and that it allowed a vicious rape to
occur. They also say that neglecting bad police behavior is a problem in the
BBPD, bringing up several other incidents of cops gone bad.
"Boynton Beach Police
Department officers have alarmingly, and increasingly, committed violations of
criminal law and engaged in other improper conduct," the lawyers say, even
bringing up the case of David Britto, the former BBPD cop who was arrested for
selling meth and then fled to Brazil after posting bail.
The woman in the case is
represented by Jack Scarola, who is no stranger to taking cops to task. He also
represents the Guatemala Mayan Center, which accuses Lake Worth police of
physically harassing people of Guatemalan descent. In September, Scarola wrote
a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder about the civil rights violations.