Activist and attorney both allege a Texas trooper raped a Black woman who was pulled over for DUI
Sherita Dixon Cole was detained and taken into custody despite passing a breathalyzer test, her defenders say, but authorities refute the accusation.
Sherita Dixon Cole was detained and taken into custody despite passing a breathalyzer test, her defenders say, but authorities refute the accusation.
A Black woman is accusing a Texas state trooper of sexually assaulting her, inciting both outrage and a call for justice from social activist Shaun King, reports Heavy.
Sherita Dixon-Cole’s story went viral after King, who writes for for The Intercept, shared the story on his social media platforms. In a Facebook post, King contends that Cole was raped by a Texas trooper and then jailed for suspicion of DUI. That trooper has now been identified as Officer Daniel Hubbard of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Her family contends that not only was Dixon-Cole not drunk, but she passed a breathalyzer test as well.
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The family also alleges that the trooper who pulled Cole over at 1:30 a.m. on May 20 in Waxahachie, Tex., said Dixon-Cole could go home if she agreed to have sex with him. Details are sketchy as the story continues to develop, but according to Dixon-Cole’s statement, when she declined, “she was taken to Hubbard’s cruiser and forcefully groped, fondled and vaginally penetrated during a prolonged arrest that included assaults outside and inside of the police vehicle.”
This woman was kidnapped & raped by a Texas State Trooper— OFFICER HUBBARD, she is now being held hostage in Ellis County Jail!
Sherita Dixon Cole just happens to be a close personal friend of Civil Rights Attorney/my friend @MeritLaw These are the facts he got from her family: pic.twitter.com/bVqUYI0H79
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) May 20, 2018
En route to the police department, Dixon-Cole alleges Officer Hubbard continued to make sexual advances, suggested that they become intimate a remote location where she could exchange sex for her release.
Dixon-Cole called her fiance to the location when she was first pulled over. He spoke with Officer Hubbard during the arrest and attempted to follow the police cruiser to the police station but lost sight of the vehicle. Once Officer Hubbard allegedly became
frustrated with Dixon-Cole’s rebuff of his advances, she says that’s when he drove her to jail.
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She was finally released from the Ellis County Jail in Waxahachie, Texas at approximately 9:00PM Sunday, May 20, and immediately received medical treatment and testing in order
to preserve any remaining evidence of the alleged assault.
While Dixon-Cole has yet to speak publicly about the incident, she has retained the services of civil rights attorney, S. Lee Merritt.
“Our office will not shirk its responsibility to afford these allegations the professionalism and gravity that they merit. Ms. Dixon-Cole deserves nothing less,” said Merritt in a statement.
Merritt contends that certain protocols were not followed when a victim reports an assault as was the case for Dixon-Cole. She did not receive direct medical attention while detained nor was there the start of an investigation into the allegations including the confiscation of Hubbard’s uniform, patrol vehicle and other equipment.
In response, the Texas Department of Public Safety refutes the claim and said the dashcam video tells a different story.
“DPS responds to allegations by DWI suspect in Ellis County. Upon learning of the allegations today, the department immediately took action to review the dash cam video. The video shows absolutely no evidence to support the serious accusations against the Trooper during the DWI arrest of the suspect. DPS will present the video to the Ellis County DA’s Office to determine if any further action is needed.”
The department said it plans to release the full dashcam video.
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Shaun King wrote on Twitter about Dixon-Cole: “I’m not trying to play respectability politics here, but Sherita is a widely respected fully employed human resources professional. She has a BA from @UTAustin and her MA in Human Resources. She has a son in college. I refuse to accept any attacks on her character right now.”
