Officer accused of slapping woman's behind By DEANNA BOYD dboyd@star-telegram.com
Craig Murrah FORT WORTH -- A Fort Worth police officer was arrested Wednesday on allegations that he slapped the rear of a woman he caught engaging in sexual conduct in a car in Oakhurst Park in June.
Officer Craig Murrah, who has been with the department since 2001, was arrested on a warrant for "official oppression," a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in a county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. Murrah is on restricted duty pending a review of the case by the Tarrant County district attorney's office.
According to a news release by the Fort Worth Police Department, the incident occurred about 1 a.m. June 22 after Murrah found a couple engaging in sexual conduct inside a vehicle at the park at 2300 Daisy Lane in north Fort Worth. The officer directed the couple out of the car. The 18-year-old woman, nude from the waist down, got out and was placed in the back of his patrol car, the release said. Sometime during the investigation, Murrah allegedly slapped the woman on the rear, the release said.
The woman said the officer then let the couple go with only a warning. The woman told her boyfriend what the officer had done upon getting in the car, prompting him to call 911.
A subsequent internal investigation determined there was sufficient evidence to support the woman's claims, and an arrest warrant for the officer was issued.
As an occasional crime victim, I can attest that you don't have to be terribly classy to be one. I caught a burglar in the house one time, and his attorney argued in court(using the scene photos) that my house was such a pit that it was not really "adapted for the overnight accommodation of persons".
Posts: 71 | Location: Houston, Texas, USA | Registered: January 24, 2003
