The starting point is peculiar, as nobody doubts the facts of the case. Aiken, South Carolina, Police Officer Chris Medlin anally raped Elijah Pontoon.  He raped Pontoon on the side of the road. He raped Pontoon without a warrant. He raped Pontoon without lawful justification.  There is no question, no dispute whatsoever, that Medlin anally penetrated Pontoon without consent.

According to Radley Balko’s follow-up, the local government, aside from being unaware that Aiken was being sued for the rape, was otherwise taking action to address the rape. Whether it is sufficient is a matter of some question, but it’s better than merely stonewalling the problem as other municipalities and their police departments have done.  But they’re doing something, and, since the video of the rape went viral and eyes have turned toward Aiken and its cop rape problems, they’ve drawn an F.B.I. investigation into why the cops in Aiken rape on the side of the road.

And yet, there is something about the fact that this occurred, that a cop raped, raped a black man, molested a black woman, raped on the side of the road, raped without a warrant, raped without anything approaching a lawful justification (a problem so huge, in itself, as to warrant a far larger discussion that won’t happen here), that suggests a local paper should consider saying something, well, unfavorable about it.

Does the Aiken Standard approve of rape?  Hardly. But it approves of cops, and when cops rape, it’s entirely different. 

Aiken has weathered quite a storm during the past several days.

Known more for its proud history of equestrian events and eclectic downtown corridor, a different spotlight has been cast on our closely-knit community of about 30,000 residents.

A recent Washington Post blog discussed a traffic stop that occurred on Horry Street, near Richland Avenue in October 2014.

Cop rape will do that, you know.  It’s a lot like equestrian events and eclectic downtown corridors, except for the fact that your cop raped a black man on the side of the road. Granted, the first three paragraphs were only one sentence apiece, but you buried the lede the way Officer Medlin buried his fingers in Elijah Pontoon’s anus.

The blog reported two Aiken residents who happen to be African-American filed a lawsuit that said an unconstitutional cavity search was performed on one of them in broad daylight.

Who happen to be African-American? Like they woke up one day and said, “holy crap, my skin! It’s, it’s, it’s . . . brown?!?” And then there’s the euphemistic “cavity search,” as if it was a dentist seeking to excise some nasty rot from an incisor. Far more sanitary, more medicinal, than writing about an officer anally raping a resident who happened to be African-American.

While the optics of the search certainly warrant public scrutiny, let’s not forget The Washington Post blog was opinion, not necessarily fact.

Written in the first person, the blog infuses personal opinions of the author, going as far as to recommend the City of Aiken settle the suit.

That must be the problem, that the Washington Post blog was opinion, and that opinion belonged to Radley Balko, whose identity was so inconsequential that the big time editor of the Aiken Standard couldn’t be bothered to find room to include it, lest it be forced to cut back on critically informative language, like “eclectic downtown corridor.”

We’re not criticizing the blog writer’s assertions since we are as ardent protectors of the First Amendment as is The Washington Post.

Dear Aiken Standard: Whether you criticize or not has no bearing on the ardent-ness of your First Amendment protectionism. The First Amendment protects your right to criticize. What it does not do, however, is protect your right to have your head up your ass, any more than it protects Officer Medlin’s authority to shove his fingers up Pontoon’s.

Our point is that The Washington Post blog was rooted in opinion, which is how the blog should be regarded. It’s not a news story conveying information from a neutral perspective. The incident also didn’t happen last week or even last month. It happened 17 months ago.

Wait. Seventeen months ago?  Then it’s like, barely rape-y anymore, right? After all, isn’t the newsworthiness of cop rape limited to, what, a day and a half in Aiken, after which it’s back to those “eclectic downtown corridors”?

But more importantly, explain a little more about the neutral perspective of cops anally raping black guys on the side of the road in Aiken. Better still, show us how anal rape looks from a neutral perspective.

Lastly, it’s imperative to understand that we are in the middle of pending litigation. The temptation to pass judgment may seem irresistible to some, but anybody can file a lawsuit that says anything. The City is in the process of hiring an external review board. Let’s let them do their jobs and see what they have to say before we pass judgment on what happened.

Since you’re all about facts, unlike that silly Washington Post blog that’s “rooted in opinion” (based on facts), “we” are not in the middle of pending litigation. You are a newspaper. You are not being sued. You are distinct from the police, from the government of Aiken. Even a 9-year-old journalist has figured out that one.

We in no way are discounting the claims made in this specific suit. We do, however, think the public shouldn’t prematurely reach a verdict.

Prematurely? As in, not before having watched the video? It appears that your deeply unbiased opinion does indeed discount the “claims,” given that there is no serious dispute as to what happened here.  Granted, the unconstitutionality of this anal rape may be above your pay grade, as it involves a level of legal acumen clearly missing at the Aiken Standard, but that Officer Medlin raped Elijah Pontoon on the side of the road, without a warrant, isn’t in issue.  And as you note, it has been 17 months since the rape. Not too premature, it would seem.

Police officers face danger every day. They’re not perfect, but they lay their lives on the line every day so we can be safe.

No, police officers do not face danger “every day.” Sure, they say that, but that’s a lie. Yes, they’re not perfect, but how perfect does one have to be not to anally rape a black guy on the side of the road?  And no, they do not lay their lives on the line every day. Most never lay their lives on the line.  And no, it’s not so you can be safe. It’s so they can get a paycheck and a pension. And occasionally rape a black guy on the side of the road.

As Ken White notes at Popehat, the Aiken Standard seems to appreciate civility in its discussion of anal rapes by cops.  Fair enough. Civility is nice. Who doesn’t like civility?  But then, credibility is nice too, and the Aiken Standard’s failure to expect civility from its police in the performance of anal rapes of black men on the side of the road does little to enhance the credibility of its criticism of Radley Balko for drawing the only conclusions possible here. Officer Medlin anally raped Elijah Pontoon, and the Aiken Standard’s big problem is that Balko wrote about it.