Community leaders and members of the Common Council introduced a resolution Thursday, calling for action and a public apology on behalf of the City of Madison to a victim of sexual assault.
The resolution, spearheaded by Common Council President Austin King and supported by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, comes as a response to the September 1997 sexual assault of a visually impaired Madison resident, "Patty."
After the attack, King said the Madison Police Department questioned the woman's story, doubted her honesty and charged her with filing a false report. The charges were not dropped for more than seven months after the case.
The suspect was identified years later, King added, only thanks to investigative journalism and Patty's perseverance.
"I'm frankly shocked and embarrassed that it took this long to do anything," he said. "I believe a meaningful apology makes [the victim] whole — not just emotionally, but economically."
King said the resolution would not only apologize to Patty, but also would call for a 10-year suspension of city contracting with Axley Brynelson, the law firm that represented the city in the case and caused the woman further personal harm and victimization during her crisis. It would also offer a financial compensation of $35,000 to cover Patty's debt brought about because of the case.
Angela Rose, national director of the PAVE campaign — Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment — said the city's apology is long overdue.
"The fact that police terrorized Patty and injured her healing process — we must realize this is the least we can do," she said.
In addition to apologies, King said MPD Chief of Police Noble Wray is working to eliminate interrogation techniques used to "break down" individuals reporting sexual assault. The new department policy, King said, would ban lies, deception and ruses as a technique for investigation. Wray is expected to present specific reform recommendations to the Common Council within 30 days, he added.
Former Madison Police Capt. Cheri Maples, now an assistant attorney general in Wisconsin, said she commends Wray for his hard work. She said reform to the police department is important because even well-intentioned officers can make mistakes or poor decisions.
"It's important to remember human error can occur with the best intentions," she said. "That's why structural and policy reform are so important and why this resolution is right to call for such changes."
Maples added there is a movement to give Patty compensation through the Department of Justice. However, she said the City of Madison did the right thing because much of the emotional damage sparked from the actions of the MPD.
Kelly Anderson, executive director of the Rape Crisis Center, said Wray's contribution makes the resolution a "classic apology." The city's action apologizes, rectifies and takes the initiative to make sure the incident does not happen again, she said.
"We at Rape Crisis are very pleased to support this resolution," Anderson added. "We know this is a community who cares about victims."
