Lawyer Apologizes After Body Cam Video Disproves His Client’s Sexual Assault Claim

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Sherita Dixon-Cole falsely accused a Dallas public safety officer of sexual assault after he arrested her for driving drunk. Her claims were shared more than 50,000 times online and now, she could face charges.

A woman who said a Texas state trooper sexually assaulted her could face charges herself, after body cam video released by Texas Department of Public Safety shows no evidence of officer misconduct.

Sherita Dixon-Cole accused DPS trooper Daniel Hubbard of “forcefully groping” her in a sexual assault inside and outside of his cruiser during a traffic stop last weekend. Her claims were shared more than 50,000 times online, thanks to posts by Dixon-Cole’s attorney Lee Merritt and social activist Shaun King.

Merritt said his office had been retained to represent Dixon-Cole for a civil rights violation arising from sexual assault allegations she had made regarding Hubbard and the activities that followed during the arrest.

During the traffic stop, Hubbard arrested Dixon-Cole for driving while intoxicated. She was taken to the Ellis County jail and charged with DWI.

In the two-hour video, Hubbard approaches the vehicle, asks Dixon-Cole why she didn’t stop sooner after he turned on his lights, administered field sobriety tests and determined she was intoxicated. None of the allegations can be seen.

“It is deeply troubling when innocent parties are falsely accused and I am truly sorry for any trouble these claims may have caused Officer Hubbard and his family,” Merritt wrote in a statement on Facebook. “I take full responsibility for amplifying these claims to the point of national concern.”

Filing a false police report is a Class B misdemeanor in Texas, according to Section 37.08 of the Texas Penal Code.

“I see an officer who conducts himself exactly as society demands police conduct themselves today: Beyond reproach,” Ellis County DA Patrick Wilson said. “Tragically, that officer still was publicly and maliciously persecuted. What happened to that officer is a shame.”

Dixon-Cole has since hidden or deleted her Facebook account.

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Source: usatoday.com
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