Houston Police Officer Sexual Assault Lawsuit

A Houston Community Newspapers’ Humble Observer news article by Stefanie Thomas discusses a lawsuit recently filed by a Kingwood woman in which the woman alleges that a Houston Police officer sexually assaulted her on a dark and lonely stretch of Hamblen Road.  Citing court records pertaining to the lawsuit, the article states that the woman filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Houston and the former Houston police officer, claiming the City of Houston is responsible for the police officer’s actions by negligently training and supervising him.  The lawsuit was filed by the woman’s attorney while criminal proceedings against the former Houston Police Department Officer are still pending.  In this regard, the article states that the former HPD officer was charged with sexual assault and an improper sexual act with a person in custody after the conclusion of an extensive internal affairs investigation, and, after much rescheduling, was set to begin trial August 17th.  The woman’s attorney reportedly said he researched similar lawsuits against the City of Houston, involving sexual assault by a police officer, and found nearly a handful of them just within the last few years.  The attorney was quoted in the article as saying “This is not the first of its kind.”  In the sexual assault lawsuit, the woman and her attorney are seeking actual and punitive damages against the City of Houston and the former police officer, according to the article.  Houston Police Department officials were referenced in the article as saying that the officer retired from the department in September of 2007 after nearly 24 years of service.  The woman’s attorney hopes the civil case will go in front of a jury toward the end of the year. 

See, http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/05/26/humble_observer/news/2209hpdrapeho.txt  or the Humble Observer news archive at www.hcnonline.com , 5/26/09 “Woman Sues City of Houston In Alleged Sexual Assault By Police Officer,” by Stefanie Thomas.