Apparently, when Sarah Palin was Mayor of Wasilla, she fired the Police Chief and hired a new one. Ok, fine. Maybe the guy was incompetent. But she then appointed a new Chief who defended the town's policy whereby rape victims had to pay for the forensic medical test when they reported the crime! The state actually had to pass a law to prohibit the practice, which was only in place in Wasilla.
A May 23, 2000, article in Wasilla's newspaper, The Frontiersman, noted that Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies regularly pay for such exams, which cost between $300 and $1,200 apiece.
"(But) the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests," the newspaper reported.
It also quoted Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon objecting to the law. Fannon was appointed to his position by Palin after her dismissal of the previous police chief. He said it would cost Wasilla $5,000 to $14,000 a year if the city had to foot the bill for rape exams.
"In the past we've charged the cost of exams to the victims' insurance company when possible," Fannon told the newspaper. "I just don't want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer."
my emphasis, as if it's needed. Taxpayer. They didn't want to put a burden on the TAXPAYER?!?!?!?!?! In a RAPE case?!?!?!?!?!?!
Can you imagine a woman getting raped, but not going to police because she doesn't have the $300-1200 or insurance for the medical test? Disgusting. What else, charging the families of murder victims for balistics tests?
In general, I think it's a bad thing for Democrats to focus too much on Palin. But this is a disgusting exception.
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