Opinion: Were more officers trading stolen nude selfies? CHP must investigate

California Highway Patrol officers in the Bay Area are under investigation and may face criminal charges for stealing explicit photos from female suspects’ cellphones and sharing the pictures among officers as a “game.”

The trading of stolen selfies was uncovered when a San Ramon woman discovered that six racy photos on her phone had been forwarded to an unfamiliar phone number while she was being booked into jail on suspicion of driving under the influence. When she called the number, she realized the phone belonged to her arresting officer and she reported the incident to authorities.

The officer, Sean Harrington, 35, of Martinez, later told investigators that he had taken photos from female arrestees a half-dozen times in recent years. He said that he first learned of the image-sharing scheme while based in Los Angeles, and that fellow officers had been trading explicit photos -- along with crass text messages dissecting the women’s bodies -- as a “game” for years, according to the Bay Area News Group, which first reported the story.

While CHP officials have responded with appropriate anger and disgust, they are also portraying this photo stealing and sharing as an isolated incident among a few bad apples, when the officer’s own statements suggest otherwise. And officials acknowledged that a similar incident occurred in Los Angeles in 2012.

It was bad enough when hackers stole and published explicit photos of female celebrities. That was a wake-up call that women were losing the ability to control their property and private images. Now even some law enforcement officers feel they can steal women’s private photos and trade them like baseball cards.

It’s simply not enough for CHP officials to express disappointment. They cannot dismiss these allegations as a rare instance of bad behavior among a few rogue officers. Instead, they should investigate whether the practice may be more widespread, and make clear that officers who engage in this behavior will face criminal charges.

Twitter: @kerrycavan