The Lieutenant

This message was sent to Lieutenant Nolan Wentz after our meeting May 8, 2014.


Nolan Wentz,

Your statement of support for the officers in the detective squad, and patrolman Ray Garza, is not surprising, or suspect. However, the detective who referred to me as "robbery girl" to amuse his fellow detectives, and you, his superior officer, adds insult to injury. While this sort of sophmoric unprofessional behavior is disappointing, it is not at all surprising.

As a person who has been repeatedly victimized, repeatedly threatened, and treated with callous disregard by Yakima Police Officers, what I clearly understand after our one-on-one meeting which was  followed with the kindergarten kops juvenile name-calling; served only to reinforce my negative perception that reporting police misconduct and property crimes will do me no good. 

The perpetrators were aided and abetted by YPD officers acting under color of law. It is plain that you and the detectives working the YPD property crimes unit find my traumatization humorous. I can only assume that you and the detectives gathered outside your office were laughing because I have been robbed of thousands of dollars of property, or perhaps the fact that I have been evicted from a home my handicapped son and I had lived in for seven years. I fail to be amused by my false arrest, or having my face beat in while there; but maybe it's because I've been repeatedly threatened with additional physical harm. I am certain knowing that my brain damaged son has been lied to and manipulated by people that robbed us and cost us our home, will not be something that I will laugh about later.

The criminal activity that took place 24 hous a day while I was incarcerated compelled my landlord to evict me. The fact is, the property crimes and the manipulation of my handicapped son, a vulnerable adult, occurred and continued ONLY because I had been arrested in my home by Officer Ray Garza for a crime I did not commit. 

I was in jail when obvious criminal activity was unnoticed or intentionally ignored by YPD is that what you and the detectives find so amusing? I can only assume what is so amusing; I find all of these events and dealing with the adverse effects of them, utterly horrifying. I am terrified, traumatized and without any confidence in local law enforcement. I wonder, what sort of crimes will my son be the victim of next?

Rebecca Murphy





...choose for yourself this day whom you will serve...Joshua 24:15