Disciplinary hearing underway for Edmonton police officer accused of exposing himself
BY BRENT WITTMEIER, EDMONTON JOURNAL AUGUST 14, 2012
Police lights
Photograph by: Supplied , Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON - An Edmonton police officer accused of showing his erect penis to a woman he arrested testified denied the accusation Tuesday during a disciplinary hearing.
Const. Jared Ruecker faces a discreditable conduct charge in an internal police hearing into events following an arrest Jan. 30, 2011. His accuser, a 39-year-old woman, claimed Ruecker exposed himself after charging her with mischief and dropping her off at her apartment.
On Tuesday, conflicting testimonies were heard about what happened that morning and the weeks that followed, when the woman admittedly called Ruecker and demanded he drop the mischief charge.
“She gave me an ultimatum to either drop the charges or she would go” to internal affairs, Ruecker said.
Shortly before 2 a.m. that morning, police were called to Eddie Shorts Bar and Grill, 10713 124 St., with complaints of trouble with an intoxicated woman.
The woman testified she had a couple of cocktails and two or three shooters at the bar over an hour and a half that night. During a confrontation, she kicked and broke the glass door, then returned to her nearby apartment, where she called police to report what happened.
Ruecker and Const. Gordon McDonald went to the bar, collecting statements from staff about a woman known as “Trish the Dish” or “Diamond,” who had broken the front door after staff escorted her out.
The pair went to the woman’s nearby apartment at 3:44 a.m., where police had been earlier that night, to see if she matched the witness descriptions.
McDonald and Ruecker both said the woman was emotionally unstable when they arrived, laughing and crying. After they talked to her for a few minutes, she calmed down. Ruecker told her she was under arrest at 3:51 a.m., and she willingly went with them to the west division police station, where she was charged with mischief. The woman said she and Ruecker flirted harmlessly in the front waiting area while she waited for the officers to complete paper work. Because of delays at the station, they issued her an order for her to return later to get fingerprinted.
Ruecker drove the woman home at 5:30 a.m., leaving McDonald behind to complete paperwork. They arrived at 5:43 a.m.
The woman said she and Ruecker held hands through the police cage on the way back. She testified that Ruecker said nothing, but followed her inside her apartment and stayed 10 to 15 minutes.
Ruecker went into the kitchen and complimented a professional picture the woman used as album art for a CD she released, she said.
After fixing a drink, she testified she sat down on a sofa. The officer stood in front of her, an arms length away, then unzipped his pants, exposing his erect penis. The woman said she fell back in shock, hitting her head on a picture against the wall.
“He got startled, zipped his pants up,” she said. Before leaving, he reminded her about her promise to return to the station for fingerprinting.
Ruecker said he didn’t flirt, hold hands, and that he only stepped inside her apartment so neighbours wouldn’t hear him issue the reminder. He said the woman was “compliant, very co-operative,” and that he stayed for just a couple of minutes, then returned outside to add notes to the file.
Ruecker returned to the police station at 6:04 a.m., police records show.
The woman testified she later began drinking and using cocaine. After suffering an overdose, she called 911 again. Ruecker and McDonald were among officers called in to accompany paramedics. After a short time, she demanded officers and paramedics leave.
“She appeared to not even recognize us,” McDonald said.
Two weeks after the incident, the woman launched a complaint with police. The woman testified she later called Ruecker on Feb. 28 to try to get him to drop the charge because of what he did. He agreed, she said.
During cross-examination by Bill Newton, Ruecker’s representative, the woman was asked about her efforts to get Ruecker to “meet me in the middle” and drop the charge that was spoiling her otherwise clean record. Newton referred the woman to a statement she later gave to a detective about the call.
“Does that sound like a threat to you?” Newton asked.
“Maybe,” the woman replied.
The hearing also heard a phone conversation between the woman and Ruecker recorded during a professional standards investigation in September. Investigators were with the woman as she called Ruecker and asked him if he dropped the charge as he had promised.
“I don’t know what you’re referring to,” Ruecker said repeatedly. “There’s no deal and I can’t drop the charge.”
The hearing will continue Wednesday. Ruecker, who has nearly five years of service, is still assigned to patrol duties.
No comments:
Post a Comment