Lawsuit Accuses Cops of Rape, Florida Police Department of Habitually Ignoring Complaints

Two women are suing the city of Lauderhill,
Florida and two police officers, Franklin Hartley
and Thomas Merenda for an alleged rape for
which the two cops, on unpaid administrative leave, are already
facing criminal charges. They allege in their lawsuit that the
police department “hires violent and dangerous individuals as
police officers” and regularly fails to investigative complaints
about cops.

What’s being alleged,
via The Sun Sentinel:

According to the lawsuit, the women had drinks at the Vegas
Cabaret strip club on University Drive in Lauderhill and left when
it closed at 4 a.m. Within minutes, Hartley pulled them over in a
Taco Bell drive-through in Tamarac.

After taking the driver’s vehicle registration and insurance
documents, the lawsuit says Hartley ordered the women to follow him
and led them to the back of a closed tire shop at 7300 West
Commercial Blvd. Moments later, Merenda showed up in his patrol
car.

Hartley took Jane Doe 1 to the front of his vehicle and under
threat of arrest ordered her to perform oral sex and then raped
her, the lawsuit says.

Merenda, according to the suit, remained with the driver at the
rear of his vehicle and “engaged her in [bizarre] conversations
about his family, wife and marital problems.”

After the rape, the suit alleges that the officers swapped women
and fondled their breasts and genitalia.

GPS data shows that both patrol cars remained at the location
for more than 90 minutes, according to the suit.

According to the lawsuit, the two officers were the target of
another suit in 2012 over an alleged false arrest which was settled
for $75,000 and never led to any disciplinary actions. The lawsuit
also lists four other cops lawyers accuse the department of not
disciplining appropriately in their attempt to show the
department’s pattern of not holding officers accountable for their
actions.

Hartley and Merenda face felony charges of unlawful compensation
and a misdemeanor charge of battery—the officers are also accused
in the criminal complaint of coercing one of the women to punch
Merenda in the genitals, because apparently he liked nut
punches.