If I were to freaking pull out my bloody tampon in the middle of Times Square, no one is going to move on with their day and think, "Yup that was totally normal, nothing is wrong with this girl whatsoever." People are going to scream and think I'm absolutely insane, mothers will hold their children's hands tighter, and the homeless man on the corner is going to whistle and hoot at me – and this is the Big Apple where most eccentric things go overlooked. But, at least that would be me pulling the string out. I have control.

Unfortunately, Natalie Simms, did not have that same control when a San Antonio police officer pulled out her tampon in the middle of a public search. No one wants to see her bloody tampon as they walk or drive by. Absolutely no one and she doesn't want that either. Now, Simms suffers the consequential mental trauma from a horrifying display of police power.

Periods suck. From the blood to the hunger to the irritability (and don't forget about the major cramps), no one deserves to be humiliated on top of all that. Our emotions are already at a high and going through a distressing encounter during our time of the month, can really mess us up.

In 2016, Simms sat on a curb when the police arrived and questioned if she has possession of illegal drugs. She let them search her car and even though they found nothing illegal, informed her that she couldn't leave until a search by a female detective, Mara Wilson, was done. Without a warrant or any medical personnel, Simms didn't realize that Wilson intended to reach into her pants to pull out a tampon.

Wilson demanded Simms to spread her legs and promised just to "look." As cars drove by and five male officers watched, Simms did as she was told and admitted that she was on her period and didn't want anyone snooping inside her lady parts. Although everyone was aware Simms was on her period, Wilson was shocked to find a tampon and decided to ignore her promise to just observe and forcefully pull it out.

Simms was obviously mortified and questioned Wilson's actions to which Wilson replied, "I don't know. It looked like it had stuff in there."

Duh! It was filled with blood like any other tampon would be.

But this isn't where the story ends, Wilson continued to inappropriately touch Simms and comment on her pubic hair. Then, Wilson asked Simms to turnaround for an anal search before Simms was left alone and traumatized.

Natalie Simms was clearly violated but never received an apology. Instead, Wilson stood by her actions citing, "It was really nasty, but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything in there...you don't know what they have. I mean, they stick all kinds of stuff."

Look, I understand that officers are just doing their job and they want to make sure society is safe. I understand that people shove plastic bags of illegal drugs up their vaginas and anuses, I get it. Cops have to do searches and I'm OK with that. But, in no world will I except putting a hand up in someone's vagina in public for a full body cavity search without proper consent. That's not acceptable. Bring the person to a private area or secure location and do what you got to do consensual. I have one question for Officer Wilson: "Do you want me to pull you over on the side of the road and pull out your tampon?"

Simms went on to sue the City of San Antonio and Officer Wilson since, according to the lawsuit, "Natalie had not consented to such a search, seizure, and/or use of force." That day was a clear violation of Simms's rights and "resulted in significant and lasting harm." Simms lost her dignity that day and although the city layers lawyers offered her a $205,000 settlement, money can't buy everything. And, money definitely can't solve mental trauma.

She will forever be reminded of her sexual assault experience and by know one else but the hands of a police officer.

I can't speak for Simms as I don't know how she felt or feels and everyone reacts differently, but I know that after personal traumatic experiences, I felt robbed of my self-esteem and self-love. I was scared. I felt wrong and needed a strong support system to lift me back up. Any traumatic event leaves victims with horrifying consequences and Simms is not alone.

Simms deserves to heal and she deserves a damn genuine apology.

In a time of police brutality, it's important to recognize a blatant abuse of power and how it negatively impacts humanity. I wish that those police officers thought a little bit more before they did what they did. My mama always told me to think before I do and think before I act, what did their guardians teach them?