Posted on 04/04/2006 3:23:42 AM PDT by freepatriot32
An 18-year-old woman was kidnapped and raped early Friday morning while walking home from a traffic stop in which Upland police impounded her ride, authorities said.
Upland police allowed the woman to leave alone on foot around midnight near 14th Street and Euclid Avenue after they towed the car in which she was a passenger.
She called police from the south part of the city about two hours later and reported that a man forced her into his car at gunpoint and raped her before she made it home.
Police Capt. Jeff Mendenhall said that despite the obvious safety concerns, police followed proper procedures in letting the woman walk through the city alone in the middle of the night. It was the woman's choice to do so, he said, and officers had no authority to stop her.
"She could have been taken somewhere, but she turned it down," Mendenhall said. "If she were a juvenile we would have made arrangements to get her home. But if it's an adult we can't force them against their will."
Officers arrested the suspected assailant shortly after the woman reported she was raped.
They said the suspect, 22-year-old Seuti Magba-Kamara of Rancho Cucamonga, drove past them while they were interviewing the woman just after 2 a.m.
They pulled him over several blocks away and took him into custody without incident, Mendenhall said.
He was booked into West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on charges of rape, kidnapping, robbery, criminal threats and forcible oral copulation. Bail was set at $1 million.
Police said the incident unfolded about 11:20 p.m. Thursday after officers stopped the car in which the woman was a passenger.
The driver of the car, who was not identified, was arrested on suspicion of possessing drug paraphernalia, and the car was impounded.
Mendenhall said the woman initially waited in the back seat of a squad car while police called a ride for her. The ride didn't show, and the woman decided to walk to a pay phone, Mendenhall said.
She didn't come back, Mendenhall said.
Police said she made it about three miles on foot before a man pulled up in a white Chevrolet Impala and offered her a ride near San Antonio Avenue and Eighth Street.
When she refused, he brandished a handgun and forced her into his car, Mendenhall said.
He then drove her to an alley, threatened her and forced her to have sex at gunpoint, police said. He stole her ID and let her out of the car afterward, police said.
She called to report the incident at about 2 a.m. from the area of Seventh Street and San Antonio.
After his arrest, the woman identified Magba-Kamara as her assailant, authorities said. Evidence was found in his car linking him to the crime, Mendenhall said. Police also recovered the gun, which they said turned out to be an air pistol.
The woman, who suffered bruises on her arm, was treated a hospital and released.
Mendenhall said police don't like to leave people stranded on the streets.
Officers will often take them to 24-hour restaurants or even allow them to wait in the police station lobby for their rides.
This woman didn't want that, he said.
"We certainly didn't leave her stranded," he said. "There were better options for her to take."
Curtis Cope, an expert in police procedure, said Friday it appears Upland police acted within the law in allowing the woman to walk home alone.
"It sounds like an offer for assistance was made, and that would be consistent with good police practice," Cope said.
In some cases, an officer can drive a person home, but that depends on how busy the officer is and how far away is the person's destination, said Cope, who spent 29 years as a policeman and now works as an instructor on proper tactics.
Normally, police will help the person call a cab or arrange transportation. If the person chooses to walk, police must let them, he said.
According to court records, Magba-Kamara has a case pending against him. He is suspected of committing a robbery at a fast-food restaurant on Holt Boulevard in Montclair.
He was out of jail on his own recognizance Thursday night.
Many officers will do that.
About 10 years ago my car broke down at night and while I was waiting for AAA a cop pulled up. He waited with me until the tow truck guy came. He didn't have to and it was nice that he did. I guess "protect and serve" meant something to him.
The police have no obligation to protect you as an individual, only society as a whole by investigating crimes after they happen.
Well, you can call the officer who stayed (and I never asked him to) and tell him he should not have.
What did he have? A roach clip?
a great arguement for a snub nosed 357 meets male genitalia and adds another rapist to the male choir of super high pitched voices story...
how can anyone blame the police...surely the guy who raped her is responsible...
This was a few blocks away from me.
Well it's nice that he did stay but SCOTUS has ruled time and again that police have no obligation to the individual and can not be held liable for inaction.
See: Castle Rock v Gonzales, Warren v District of Columbia
We are in San Bernardino County, but please don't confuse the nice bedroom community of Upland with the hellhole of San Bernardino.
That part isn't missing from the story -- they called somebody to give her a ride, and the ride didn't show up. She decided to walk, and they had to let her go.
In my city, they have a neat service called "Taxi cabs" that will take you where you want to go, for a fee, if you don't have a car. Perhaps San Bernardino could look into a service like this.
'He was out of jail on his own recognizance Thursday night.'
Multiculturalism at its' best... Magba Kamara, sounds indian to me...however don't know what the woman's culture is...
whatever it is , the police are not responsible for the woman choosing to walk herself home...
Read the story, linda. The girl walked off on her own.
I did read the story. I was suggesting that's what she should have done.
But did they offer to give her a ride or did they refuse to give her a ride? That's my question.
Reading between the lines, I'd say they didn't offer a ride -- hence, the guy saying it's up to the officer whether he has time do do it.
But they were waiting with her, and did attempt to get her a ride, and she wandered off.
Police Capt. Jeff Mendenhall said that despite the obvious safety concerns, police followed proper procedures in letting the woman walk through the city alone in the middle of the night.
"She could have been taken somewhere, but she turned it down," Mendenhall said. "If she were a juvenile we would have made arrangements to get her home. But if it's an adult we can't force them against their will."
At first I felt very sorry for this woman but if she refused a ride, then I don't know what else could have been done. Not smart to walk alone late at night, especially for a woman.
We have them all over. Currently, I am facing a 5 yr felony for driving my wife's car in which she had a 105 gram container of cs/pepper spray in the glove box--her dad gave it to her 22 years ago. In Michigan, the legal limit is 35 grams...little did we know.
I will never again be cooperative with Law Enforcement. The term protect and serve is now officially a fallacy IMHO...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.