(CNN) — If Megan Talkington’s daughter told her mother she wanted to be in law enforcement, the veteran police officer in West Virginia says she knows exactly her response. “I would tell her, ‘No.’ I would not want my daughter to walk through the halls of the West Virginia State Police Academy until there’s reform. Talkington and fellow law enforcement officer, Brenda Lesnett, are the first women to speak publicly about a scandal that has erupted in the state, and are among the first to take civil action against the West Virginia State Police. “That’s not just male-dominated, it’s anti-woman.”State Police declined comment, citing the “ongoing investigation and litigation.” Police are investigating the allegations of wrongdoing, as is the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security. “We think there’s a cultural problem.”Lesnett, who also works at another agency and has been in law enforcement since graduating from the West Virginia academy in 2016, said she was “shocked” and “appalled” to learn about the recordings.

Source: CNN July 04, 2023 22:35 UTC