Posted on 04/13/2006 3:21:02 PM PDT by ghost of nixon
DURHAM, N.C. -- A woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by members of Duke University's lacrosse team was described as "just passed-out drunk" by one of the first police officers to see her, according to a recording of radio traffic released by Durham police on Thursday and obtained by The Associated Press.
The conversation between the officer and a police dispatcher took place about 1:30 a.m. March 14, about five minutes after a grocery store security guard called 911 to report a woman in the parking lot who would not get out of someone else's car.
The officer gave the dispatcher the police code for an intoxicated person and said the woman was unconscious. When asked whether she needed medical help, the officer said: "She's breathing and appears to be fine. She's not in distress. She's just passed-out drunk."
The black woman, a 27-year-old dancer and college student, told police she was sexually assaulted and beaten by three white men around midnight at an off-campus party thrown by Duke's lacrosse team. The racially charged allegations have led Duke to cancel the highly ranked team's season and accept the resignation of its coach.
No charges have been filed, but district attorney Mike Nifong has said he believes a crime was committed. Attorneys for the players have said DNA tests failed to connect any players to the alleged attack, and they have urged Nifong to drop his investigation.
The radio recordings, obtained by the AP through a records request, are the first instance in which police or anyone connected with the investigation has said the woman appeared to be intoxicated.
Defense lawyers, however, have said time-stamped photographs taken by the players show that the accuser was drunk and had already suffered some injuries when she arrived at the house for the party.
The recording is consistent with "what I have seen of the photo evidence before," attorney Kerry Sutton said. Those photos, she said, showed that she was "way beyond where you would put somebody behind the wheel of a car."
The description of the woman's medical exam -- which Nifong has said is his basis for believing a rape occurred -- does not mention her being drunk. It states only that the woman's injuries and behavior were consistent with having been raped, sexually assaulted and having suffered a traumatic experience.
The woman has told police she and another dancer hired to dance at the party arrived at 11:30 p.m. March 13. The pair reportedly left the house a short time later, fearing for their safety. The accuser told police the two were coaxed back into the house with an apology, at which point they were separated. That's when she said she was dragged into a bathroom and sexually assaulted, beaten and choked for a half-hour.
At 12:53 a.m., police received a 911 call from a woman complaining that she had been called racial slurs by white men gathered outside the home where the party took place.
The defense has said it believes the second dancer at the party made that call. The 911 call from the grocery store security guard was placed at 1:22 a.m.
In it, the caller says, "Um, the problem is ... it's a lady in somebody else's car and she will not get out of their car. She's like, she's like intoxicated, drunk or something. She's, I mean, she won't get out of the car, period."
A police spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the radio traffic.
The case has focused intense national scrutiny on Duke and the lacrosse players and has sparked protests on the elite private university's campus and elsewhere in Durham. The school last week canceled the highly ranked team's season and coach Mike Pressler resigned after the release of a vulgar and graphic e-mail sent by a team member shortly after the alleged assault.
Several of the defense attorneys say they expect the district attorney to ask a grand jury on Monday to issue charges in connection with allegations.
"Rest up on Sunday," Sutton said.
There has been no official word, however, on whether Nifong intends to present the allegations Monday. His next opportunity would come two weeks later.
ping
Heck, people on the radio down here are demanding that they get licensed now!
Whomever she pointed her finger at during her eeny-meeny-mini-mo of the team pictures.
or roofies?
She was sitting in the car, passed out when the cop radioed this in. He did not inspect her legs, knees, etc. where the photos show her banged up.
Exactly! He'll be branded a rapist and then they will find him not guilty and his life will be just as over as if he were convicted and she'll just go on with little or no stigma cause she'll get a new weave and change her name and move on to the next grift.
You have any stats on that.......? If you do...let's see them.
I've very little faith in the justice system in our country anymore.....
I think some of the attorneys have said that there are going to be indictments so that people aren't shocked by it if they are and then we'd have the "I told you all they were guilty" crowd all over again.
Oh good grief. Get a life.
It could be a game of chicken.
So she was intoxicated when she arrived at the party and basically unconscious from alcohol after the party.
What happened was that the girls were pi$$ed off by the name calling and figured, " We'll get you whitey", just like Mckinney .Twanna Brawley all over again .
"A grand jury might be a good idea. Have her testify under oath before a grand jury."
I don't know the story, but my instincts tell me she is a gold-digging liar.
That said...if she already lied big, what will being "under oath" before a "grand jury" mean to someone like this?
More lies.
And a whole lot more time to compose herself and rehearse the lies till even she believes them.
Does SS ever investigate mothers of small children who strip/dance/whatever who also get drunk or high on something?
I agree. But it is one thing to tell lies that you believe. It is another to try to remember those lies when being questioned by skilled lawyers who have the benefit of good forensic and private investigators.
This is not necessarily good news for the accused. Drunk females can be considered impaired, and more vulnerable to unwanted sexual advances. The key here--it seems to me--is where she was prior to to showing up at the LAX house.
"I don't know the story, but my instincts tell me she is a gold-digging liar."
I normally keep a very open mind about these things because I wasn't there and don't know the facts, however, I suspect you're right. Something more here than meets the eye..
I for one would NEVER touch a stripper, dancer, (enter other description here) at 11:30 at night without a case of Trojans (I'm a white guy so small will do fine thanks..:-) and a full body Kevlar condom..
I bet black hookers and exotic dancers are pretty pissed right now. I think any non-black men would think twice before hiring them.
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