Deputy Inspector Peter Rose ( 94th Precinct Twitter)
Nov. 21, 2017 By Nathaly Pesantez
A group of activists are outraged over the promotion of an NYPD Captain from the 94th Precinct to Deputy Inspector, following comments he made earlier this year about date rape cases.
Deputy Inspector Peter R. Rose, who was promoted in an NYPD ceremony on Tuesday, came under fire in January for the way he addressed a 2016 trend that saw an increase in rape and attempted rape cases within the 94th Precinct, most of which were classified as acquaintance rapes.
“It’s not a trend that we’re too worried about because out of 13 [sex attacks], only two were true stranger rapes,” then Capt. Rose said to DNAInfo before the precinct community council meeting.
At the meeting, he later added that because most of the rapes involved coworkers, Tinder dates, and other forms of date rape, that “they’re not total-abomination rapes where strangers are being dragged off the streets.”
The comments created a uproar, which included responses from multiple public officials, including Councilmember Stephen Levin, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, and Assemblyman Joe Lentol, and protests in front of the precinct organized by the National Organization for Women, who were left aghast at the news of Rose’s promotion.
“This promotion is an affront to women and confirms what women know too well, that the NYPD doesn’t take rape seriously enough,” Ossorio said to the New York Daily News, which first reported the promotion. “Women should take to the streets.”
In a separate statement to the Greenpoint Post, Ossorio said what’s at stake in promoting Rose is the message it sends to the entire NYPD.
“Commissioner O’Neill can’t say he is committed to improving and prioritizing the NYPD’s response to sex crimes while rewarding a precinct captain who said date rape isn’t as serious or as much a public safety concern as stranger rape,” Ossorio said.
UltraViolet, an activist group that fights against sexism, said “the people of NYC deserve better.” On Facebook, the group wrote: “In this #MeToo moment, where so many companies are pushing out sexual predators and those that protect them, it is deeply disturbing that the NYPD is doing the opposite and promoting a rape apologist.”
The deputy inspector apologized for his comments on Jan. 9, just days after the meeting where the remarks were made. “I failed to communicate accurately how I respond to reports of rape, and the actions the Department as a whole takes,” part of his apology, posted to Twitter, reads.
“My comments were not meant to minimize the seriousness of sexual assault,” he added. “Every rape, whether perpetrated by a stranger or someone known to them is fully investigated. We make no distinction in our response. My comments suggested otherwise and for that I apologize.”
In February, the NYPD told NOW that officers of the Special Victims Unit would receive training in forensic experiential trauma interviewing tactics, a move that came after Rose’s comments were publicized by DNAInfo.
The 94th Precinct’s twitter account congratulated Rose on his “well deserved promotion”. In another tweet, Chief Joseph Fox of the NYPD Transit Bureau said Rose will be rejoining the bureau to help oversee subway policing strategies across two boroughs.
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