Posted on 08/09/2010 10:33:55 AM PDT by Colofornian
A Provo police officer is accused of groping a woman after saying he would arrest her if she did not show him her breasts.
Jeffery Westerman, 33, was fired from the police department after a woman claimed July 23 that Westerman sexually abused her during an accident investigation the night before, said Utah County sheriff’s Lt. Mike Brower.
The woman, 29, was driving near 300 South and University Avenue when her car collided with another, according to jail documents. Westerman arrived at the scene and sent the other motorist away. He then conducted field sobriety tests on the woman, who “wasn’t performing well,” witnesses said. Westerman tried to handcuff her, but he couldn’t because of a splint on her arm.
Instead, the woman said he searched her car and began “swearing and yelling at her,” jail documents state.
Westerman told the woman “he was going to arrest her for a felony, or he gave her the option of exposing her breasts to him,” according to jail documents.
“The victim stated that she didn’t want to go to jail, and she was afraid, so she lifted her top and exposed her breasts to him,” police wrote.
The woman said Westerman fondled her breasts and made “crude sexual comments,” police wrote.
After the woman replaced her top, Westerman told her “he was going to have to explain to his supervisor why he let a DUI drive home, ... and she needed to do it again,” jail documents state.
After Westerman fondled her again, he drove away, police wrote.
Detectives reviewed surveillance footage from the scene that was consistent with the victim’s report, Brower said. Westerman later made false statements to investigators in the case, Brower said.
Provo police are reviewing the original traffic case against the woman and may hand over that investigation to the sheriff’s department, said Provo city spokeswoman Helen Anderson. The woman did perform field sobriety tests during the original investigation, but investigators have not determined whether Westerman had probable cause to arrest her, Utah County sheriff’s Lt. Spencer Cannon said.
Westerman has been a Provo police officer since 2006, Anderson said.
“This is not representative of our police force,” she said. “We’re very proud of our police.”
Westerman is being held at the Juab County jail, according to a news release by the Utah County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives are seeking felony charges of forcible sexual abuse and obstruction of justice.
Hope she was worth it.
The FBI fiddles...
Good riddance to a bad cop...
Apparently old Jeff ain't the sharpest pencil in the box.
Incredible!
(Uhhh...
I'll bet it wasn't easy lifting her TOP with splint on either...)
Thanks for keeping me abreast of the news in UTAH.
Sounds like that cop is an udder failure!
This unspeakably sick ahole needs a serious beating!
This kind of crap makes me so mad @#$%^&
This is not a man, I don’t know what it is but I refuse to include it in any group I belong to. :-(
When in Provo, do as the Provolones do.
I wonder how many times they reviewed it
She will file a lawsuit against the city and probably be awarded a few hundred thousand $$$$.
Disgusting. I am glad they gave him the boot before he got more aggressive with women. Just a thought
Cops are about 3 times as likely as the general public to commit sex crimes. Don’t know why that is, but I suspect it has something to do with attitude and specifically an overinflated sense of one’s own authority.
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