Absolutely brutal. Other sources picked up on this article and added more details
The New York Times reviewed: the internal records of the FSU police department, including internal emails; communications between the FSU police and the Tallahassee Police Department; communications between the FSU police department and FSU's administration and the FSU athletic department; and dates that events happened or didn't happen. The New York Times also conducted interviews.
A small taste of what we are told:p>
- The police investigation did not stop because the victim said she didn't want to pursue the case or that she wanted the investigation to stop. The police chose to close the investigation. They did so without notifying the victim or the victim's attorney. Both the victim and the victim's attorney continued to call the police after the police had closed the investigation, because they didn't know the investigation had been closed and the victim wanted to pursue the matter.
- The victim was drunk at the time of the alleged sexual assault. The blood test showing a .048 blood alcohol level was taken hours after the incident. Willie Meggs, the State Attorney who announced Winston would not be charged, says the victim's blood alcohol level at the time of the alleged assault would have been .10. When you hit .08 in Florida, you're legally drunk.
- Four months before the alleged sexual assault, another FSU co-ed had accused Winston of sexual assault. That co-ed was not raped, but the details of how Winston held down his victim and roughly handled his victim were almost but not exactly, the same as the victim claimed about Winston's alleged sexual assault of her.
- The FSU police gave a copy of the police records to Winston's attorney days before they provided the records to State Attorney Meggs. Meggs said that compromised his case against Winston.
- When a Tampa reporter called the Tallahassee police and requested documents regarding the alleged incidents, all hell broke loose. The Tallahassee police immediately notified the FSU police and sent their case files to the FSU police. The chief of FSU police started a background check on the reporter. E-mails flew between the FSU police, FSU administration, and the FSU athletic department. Jimbo Fisher was told of the request. By the next morning, the FSU athletic department is emailing FSU administration with details about the reporter's background.
And so much more.
. . . and the police did not interview Winston's roommates, the key witnesses, until the day after files on the incident were turned over to the reporter. That was more than seven months after the incident.
By that time, Winston's attorney had prepared affidavits for each roommate to sign, describing what happened the night of the incident. The affidavits were almost identical. The answers the roommates gave to the police when finally questioned were almost identical.
. . . and, when asked police about his affidavit, one of the roommates said that part of the affidavit was not true. The part that wasn't true was scarcely important, but the affidavit prepared for the roommate by Winston's attorney contained 'facts' that weren't true.