Predator cop responds to burglary, right? Well, he decides to assault according to the conviction, a woman. Put up the picture full mass. Well, that cop is now facing the music. [00:00:18] Howard Portis, Officer Howard Portis, [COUGH] is now an ex Atlanta Police Department officer has been found guilty of sexual assault. According to the indictment and conviction, he assaulted a woman [00:00:36] who had called 911 because somebody broke into her property, all right? This is a dangerous situation, you need help, [COUGH]. This happened March in 2021. The Forgery County DA's office, led by Fonnie Willis, [00:00:52] the same prosecutor prosecuting Donald Trump, announced the guilty verdict Wednesday against the former officer. He was convicted on one count of aggravated sodomy and one count of violation of oath. According to state records, the officer was still allowed [00:01:11] to resign by the Atlanta Police Department while under investigation. The officer also now has a second indictment in state court, why? Over a, quote, pattern of deactivating his [00:01:29] body camera before making sexual advances. Let me give you a background to the incident. The release said that Officer Portis responded to the 911 call from a woman on Glenn Street, March 25th, 2021. [00:01:46] The Atlanta Police Department officer arrived at the scene and once inside of her home. He decided to deactivate, turn off, his body camera, and then physically forced her to [00:02:03] perform sexual acts on him, the release stated. A second officer was dispatched to the scene and when that officer arrived, the victim, quote, remained silent about the assault due to [00:02:19] her heightened fear and distrust of law enforcement. I need you to understand the scenario that he presented here. This evil deed was done knowing that the victim would not be aware of who would be on her side or not. [00:02:40] So you have a second officer responding, why would she believe that they are not involved in a conspiracy? You have a person who has just sexually violated you, who has a gun and a license to use it. [00:02:56] And based on damn near every single Supreme Court ruling and the narrative primarily of conservatives. All he has to do is say, my goodness, I thought she was the person who broke into her own home. [00:03:12] He kills her and he gets to go home, because he know a subjective, protection. The DA's office said, after the second officer left, [00:03:31] Portis offered her $250, okay? Quote, she fled to her pastor's residence down the street, and once she got there, frantically knocked on the door in tears, [00:03:51] showing clear signs of distress, including heaving and vomiting. It's made a sick to her stomach. Before disclosing to him that she had been violated, the pastor helped arrange an ambulance to the hospital, where she stayed overnight. [00:04:12] The records also show his law enforcement certification is currently suspended, meaning he cannot seek sworn officer employment in Georgia. So you have a sentencing hearing coming up on the 20th of November. Quote, this office has indicted 31 law enforcement officers, [00:04:31] including police, sheriff's deputies, and jailers. And yep, even federal agents have been indicted by Ms. Fani Willis, the DA of Fulton County. Willis continued to say, quote, rest assured that in this jurisdiction, [00:04:49] police officers who engage in criminal activity and violate the oath to serve the public will face the full force of accountability. The prosecuting attorney in this case, Deputy DA Sonya Allen, added in the statement that law enforcement officers who engage in [00:05:06] criminal actions that breach public trust must be prosecuted. Ladies and gentlemen, this is called a start. You don't need new laws, you actually just need to enforce the ones you already have. DA Fani Willis is willing to do so, okay? [00:05:21] Unlike most, I will say this about the DA. There is obviously there is some political fallout for other prosecutions. You will have that no matter what DA you get. [00:05:37] But going after cops who clearly violate their oath is part of the job. Some DAs have decided to ignore that part of the job while overcharging every single person in poverty or committing a crime of survival, et cetera, they can. [00:05:55] Here's a moment, a blueprint, if you would, of how to do it properly. She typically is very careful about how the indictments work. There's a process through a grand jury and [00:06:13] the collection of evidence. This officer got caught here. We know about one incident for sure. But he's now being investigated because of a pattern of turning off his camera, [00:06:32] which also means there are other victims. There are other victims, that's the point here. They prosecuted for this one. But now you have a pattern that they are investigating and will indict for because, well, [00:06:49] this individual was an actual predator in a uniform. Now, why won't cops, why won't chiefs, why won't cities, counties and states agree psychological evaluations are required every six months? [00:07:06] Hell, every one year. The same cop you hire on Day 1 may not be the same cop on day 365. And how does someone who is probably a serial violator, how does that person pass your psychological evaluations unless they are simply not objective? [00:07:23] All right, Jordan, thoughts here. >> Speaker 2: This is the exact behavior that makes people so distrustful of police. That somebody exploits this system, this technology to hide what they're doing reflects a pattern of behavior like you say. [00:07:41] But there should be punishments in every department nationwide. You do this once, maybe twice if you're being liberal, maybe it's an accident. But if you are turning off your body camera, it's that you don't want anyone that could hold you accountable potentially to see what you're doing. [00:07:59] I can't think of any good reason to do that when you're interfacing with the public. Maybe to protect someone's privacy, there could be a review process. But generally speaking, if this is something that you are doing, you should be out hear you on the evaluations, absolutely. [00:08:15] Because when you put somebody in that position, you give them a badge and a gun that gives them a lot of power and control over people who are not in the police department. And we've seen time and time again you've done a fantastic job chronicling all of the abuses of power in departments and [00:08:32] states nationwide that these police engage in. There should be really rigorous and thorough checks on their behavior, their psyche, especially the body cam thing. What they're doing, how they're interfacing with the public and [00:08:48] people make the case for abolishing at the very least. There should be some sort of defund approach where you reallocate the resources into other community programs. So somebody who potentially could do harm is not the first person showing up, especially in a volatile situation where maybe police aren't needed. [00:09:07] Someone's having a mental health episode, maybe a social worker could be the first person to respond. That's the core of the defund argument, and I think we'd be better suited if we reallocated the resources that traditionally all go to the police into a vibrant and enriched community infrastructure. [00:09:26] >> Speaker 1: Very well said, and some cities are doing that, the progressive model is working in Ithaca, New York. You have variations of it in Baltimore and other places. You have to implement properly, and you have to understand the nuances of your local community. But this is how you actually solve it. [00:09:41] Stop treating the effect and start looking at the cause.