A Miami-Dade policeman faced life in prison after his ex-girlfriend accused him of kidnapping and sexually assaulting her until the charges were dropped after she recanted her testimony.
The officer, who is not being named by The Daily Wire because his accuser has not been named in media outlets, was arrested last month and charged with armed sexual battery, kidnapping, and armed burglary, according to NBC Miami. On Friday, when the officer arrived in court for his arraignment, the charges were dropped.
“We are grateful for the decision,” the officer’s attorney, Edward Tapanes, told the outlet.
The charges were reportedly dropped after the accuser refused to provide a statement and told prosecutors she didn’t use their “safe word, which “might’ve caused him to believe we were role playing,” according to the case report.
An arrest warrant reviewed by NBC Miami showed that the accused and accuser became involved in a verbal dispute at Buffalo Wild Wings in Homestead, Florida. The accuser claimed that when she arrived at her residence, the accused man was waiting for her in his marked police car while wearing his uniform and carrying his department-issued firearm. The two continued to fight, according to the woman, and the officer grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into her home, where she claimed he tried to force her to perform a sexual act on him.
She claimed that when she refused, he hit her head on the stairs and put his handcuffs on her wrist before sexually assaulting her. She claimed that she screamed for her 12-year-old son to call 911, and the officer got dressed and ran from the home.
The 12-year-old told the 911 operator that his mother told him to call but that he “doesn’t know what the situation is,” according to a case disposition memo obtained by The Daily Wire.
Police said in the warrant that the accuser got the man to admit to his actions during a controlled phone call. During that call, the accused man repeatedly said his accuser did not use the “safe word” and that the two regularly solved their problems by having sex. The accuser also admitted during that call that she kissed another man in front of the accused to “make him angry.”
Police tried to take a statement from the woman but said she refused and appeared nervous, saying she was ruining the accused man’s career.
A detective present during the call realized the accuser and the accused were texting and later seized the accused man’s cell phone. A text from the accuser – sent two minutes after the controlled call – said, “I love you and I am sorry.”
Thirty minutes later, she texted: “You’re going to get arrested and I’m really sorry about it. I love you with my all.”
The accused responded, “What are you talking about” and then said, after not receiving a response, asked, “What do you mean?”
The accuser (who is referred to as a “victim” in the case disposition memo) tried to call the man, but he didn’t answer. She then texted him: “What I said. I’m sorry [accused], I did what I thought was the right thing to do. I’m confused about what’s right or wrong but it’s too late now. I love you.”
The accused was arrested and interviewed for three hours, during which he discussed the toxic relationship with his ex. He also said that the encounter occurred during a breakup, but that the two were back together.
After again attempting to get a formal statement from the accuser, she texted a detective to say, “After much consideration I feel that the allegations I made were not as I felt them to be on the first night. I believe there was a misunderstanding between him and I.” The woman hired an attorney and called the State Attorney’s Office several times to say she didn’t want to proceed with the case.
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“Given the Defendant’s explanation that their sexual encounter that night was consensual, and the Victim’s recanted testimony about the nature of the sexual encounter, the State’s ability to proceed and prove these charges beyond a reasonable doubt has been severely compromised. Therefore, the charges will be no-actioned,” the disposition memo said.
The State Attorney’s Office would not say whether it planned to charge the woman for her actions. The man’s attorney did not respond to a Daily Wire request for comment.
The accused man is still on paid leave and the Miami-Dade Police Department did not immediately respond to a Daily Wire inquiry regarding his employment.
