The Oklahoma City Police Department ignored and had prior knowledge of a possible rape allegation against former cop Daniel Holtzclaw, according to new details from a federal civil rights lawsuit.
Holtzclaw was convicted of raping eight out of 13 Black women while on the force. The former Eastern Michigan football player was sentenced to 263 years after being convicted on 18 of 36 counts, including first-degree rape and forced oral sodomy.
This new information brings the case back into the national spotlight and reveals neglect in the OKCPD that may spark new investigations. The total number of women he has raped or stalked has now climbed to 14.
According to the Tulsa World, the “lawsuit cites allegations from a woman who was not among the 13 women in the criminal case but reported being assaulted in November 2013. [Oklahoma City police spokesman] Paco Balderrama confirmed Monday that the woman reported an assault, but he said investigators determined nothing improper occurred.”
This new lawsuit also reveals that there were more women involved who were not introduced with the original 13 in the prior case. These new details allege that Holtzclaw detained and brutalized a Black woman in November of 2013 — nearly seven months before a following accusation led to the department’s investigation. The first victim was told that the police department would look into the issue, but they never followed up, she said.
The first woman said she was getting food for her daughter when Holtzclaw grabbed her outside of the restaurant.
According to the suit, Holtzclaw slammed her against a brick wall and rubbed his crotch on her backside “while exhibiting an obvious erection.”
Balderrama said the first woman “did not report any type of sexual misconduct when she spoke to a supervisor about the incident.”
The suit goes on to say that the woman went to the hospital to get treated for the numerous scars and bruises she received from Holtzclaw’s attack. While at the hospital, an attending nurse reported the incident to police as procedure calls, according to the suit.
The woman is not a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit, but she filed a separate lawsuit against Holtzclaw and the city in state court.
