What to Know
- The captain of the NYPD's 94th precinct in Greenpoint apologized for comments he made about rape at a community meeting
- The captain took to Twitter on Monday night to apologize, writing, "My sincerest apologies for the comments I've made"
- A women's group planned a march at the 94th precinct station house on Wednesday
An NYPD police captain embroiled in controversy over comments he made about rape took to Twitter on Monday to apologize as women planned to demonstrate at his station house.
Captain Peter Rose, the commanding officer of the 94th precinct in Brooklyn, got into hot water when he made comments at a community council meeting last week that appeared to trivialize certain types of rape.
Witnesses told DNAinfo that Rose said he wasn’t too concerned about a rise in acquaintance rape cases, like those between coworkers or people who met on dating apps.
“They’re not total-abomination rapes where strangers are being dragged off the streets,” Rose said, DNAinfo reported.
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Greenpoint resident Rebecca Buckner said she felt vulnerable after the comments.
“It makes you feel like under-empowered being a woman. It’s undermining,” Buckner said.
Rose took to Twitter on Monday night to apologize, writing, “I deeply regret the statements I made last week about rape. I failed to communicate accurately how I respond to reports of rape, and the actions the department as a whole takes.”
Jane Manning, the director of advocacy at Women’s Justice NOW, said it’s good that Rose apologized but that an apology doesn’t fix a larger problem.
“We hear all the time that police want victims to come forward and report rape, but how are victims going to feel confident they can report a rape and have it taken seriously when they hear comments like this coming from a commanding officer of the police department?”
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Last year, there were 13 reported sex attacks in the 94th precinct, including 10 cases that remain unsolved.
While some are calling for Rose to be terminated, others think the department as a whole needs to change.
“Are these alarming statistics in the 94th precinct an anomaly or are they symptomatic of a problem that is citywide?” Manning said.
Manning planned to join demonstrators at the 94th precinct station house on Tuesday.
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