web1_WB-logo.jpg

Wilkes-Barre council to vote on resolutions, ordinances

web1_web1_police-lights20181993941226-1.jpg

Police: Man tried to hit girlfriend with vehicle in Salem incident

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Reaction to news that city police officer Robert Collins had been arrested on sexual assault charges was swift.</p><p>For many in the community, the news came as a shock. For others, it seemed to be expected.</p><p>Collins, 53, was arrested on Tuesday on charges he allegedly sexually assaulted four women while on duty in 2013 and 2014.</p><p>Well known for his previous role as the department&#8217;s community policing officer, Collins was a familiar and respected face around the city. Word of the charges stunned many who knew him in that context. That included people in our newsroom.</p><p>Reporter Patrick Kernan immediately remembered interviewing Collins in 2017 during a &#8220;Coffee with a Cop&#8221; event at McDonald&#8217;s, where he shook the affable officer&#8217;s hand.</p><p>&#8220;We want to show the people we care,&#8221; Collins told Kernan. &#8220;We&#8217;re here for their best interests; sometimes it&#8217;s hard to communicate that.&#8221;</p><p>The officer went on to tell Kernan how he helped run the Explorer Post, a class for mostly high school-age children aiming to make police work exciting, along with a basketball club.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s about teaching these kids to do the right thing,&#8221; Collins said. &#8220;We want them to be strong enough to make their own decisions.&#8221;</p><p>Others in our building remembered Collins from Wilkes-Barre City Council meetings, where he was a familiar presence, or from community events where he talked enthusiastically about the department&#8217;s work.</p><p>Photos of Collins in our archives show him at McDonald&#8217;s, as well as placing pinwheels on the Luzerne County Courthouse lawn in honor of abused children, and talking with residents at a Community Policing Day gathering.</p><p>&#8220;Please tell me this isn&#8217;t true,&#8221; another staffer said to me with a clear note of sadness.</p><p>On social media and in anonymous messages to the Times Leader, many users were suggesting such allegations were known in the community for some time. There were enough similar comments to raise questions about that possibility, as well as some direct messages to us here at the paper.</p><p>Given the many shocking revelations against public figures in the #metoo era, it&#8217;s understandable that fear of reprisals may have kept people with information from coming forward sooner, especially when the accused has a badge and a gun. We&#8217;ve seen how deference to authority &#8212; toward priests, bishops, movie executives, media figures &#8212; resulted in long-delayed accusations spilling out years after the fact.</p><p>Condemning a man on social media is not the way to ensure justice is done, however.</p><p>We would encourage anyone who has information that they believe is of value to the investigation to call the Pennsylvania State Police Wyoming Barracks at 570-697-2000, as requested by the state Attorney General&#8217;s Office.</p><p>At his arraignment Tuesday night, Collins said he would vigorously fight the charges. He hasn&#8217;t been convicted of anything, and remains innocent &#8212; as is the law of our land &#8212; until he admits guilt or prosecutors prove otherwise.</p><p>That is his right.</p><p>His alleged victims have the right to to be heard, too.</p><p>In the meanwhile, how do we as a community reconcile these disturbing allegations with the picture many had of a proud and honorable police officer?</p><p>We don&#8217;t.</p><p>We allow justice to take its course, as painful as that may seem when the accused is part of that very system.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL032918pinwheels1-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wilkes-Barre Police officer Robert Collins places pinwheels in the yard at the Luzerne County Courthouse last March to represent each abused child who received help from the Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center during the previous year. Collins faces charges for alleged sexual assaults against four women.<strong></strong> </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/web1_TTL032918pinwheels1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Wilkes-Barre Police officer Robert Collins places pinwheels in the yard at the Luzerne County Courthouse last March to represent each abused child who received help from the Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center during the previous year. Collins faces charges for alleged sexual assaults against four women.<strong></strong> </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Roger DuPuis</p><p>rdupuis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Editor’s Comments: Collins’ arrest shocks some, not all