In a shocking and ironic move, the Pennsylvania State Police has promoted Captain Thomas LaCrosse to the position of Commander of their “Early Intervention Program” which works to identify problematic state police personnel, and to intervene in order to prevent criminal activity or abuse of power. This type of intervention is exactly what LaCrosse failed to do when he dismissed multiple sexual harassment claims against ex-trooper Michael Evans, who was ultimately convicted of sexual assault and is now serving a prison sentence for his crime. Because of Lacrosse’s failure to adequately act upon Evans’ prior conduct, he has been named as one of the state police defendant’s in the federal civil rights case that has been filed by five of Evans’ victims. Click here to read a related article on the Evans case. Criticism about LaCrosse’s internal affairs appointment has come both from Evans’ victims and from the women’s rights community, who are aghast that LaCrosse will now be in charge of protecting citizens specifically from the kind of police behavior that he has a record of dismissing.
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