Three cops will face a misconduct investigation more than four years after they forced a then 15-year-old Black girl to expose her "intimate parts" during an "unjustified" strip-search at her school.
On Dec. 3, 2020, Kristina Linge, Victoria Wray and Rafal Szmydynski strip-searched a teen girl, referred to only as Child Q, because they believed she was carrying cannabis. The girl was forced to remove her clothing, underwear and a sanitary pad. She was then asked to spread her buttocks and cough, The Guardian reported. No drugs were found.
The incident left the girl traumatized. Her family said she began self-harming and screaming in her sleep because of it.
The search was deemed "disproportionate in all the circumstances," according to a notice of the disciplinary hearing, and all three involved officers allowed and conducted the search in a matter that was "unjustified, inappropriate, disproportionate, humiliating and degrading."
Additionally, the search was conducted without permission and without an appropriate adult present. Both Szmydynski and Linge also allegedly gave misleading reports about what happened after the strip-search.
The hearing is set for June 2. If the officers' behavior amounts to gross misconduct, all three may be dismissed from their positions.
Originally published by Latin Times
