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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.
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I wasn't sure what he meant by that either. Very physical sport.
LOL, more embarrassing news about the Durham Dirtbag.
More probably her pim...er, agent did that to her.
Paging Nancy Grace!
The officer could still give a description of what he saw -- e.g., how she moved, glassy eyes, slurred speech, odor of alcohol, etc. -- without testifying to the conclusion of intoxication.
1) The complainant was photographed as she entered the alleged crime scene and the photos show pre-existing scraps and bruises. She was dishevelled. 2) If she was intoxicated, it may be that she remembers being raped but it could have been at a previous location, and she was being deposited with the Dule party as she became more conscious. 3) If this goes to trial, the complaonant will have to take the stand, and she will be cross examined on where she was when she recieved the pre-existing scrapes and bruises. She will also have to explain her disheveled appearance and disorientation as she entered the Duke party. 4) Upon seeing her disheveled appearance and injuries, the Duke crowd likely insulted her and the two left, only to be invited back. 5) There is conflicting evidence on what happened at the Duke party on the dancers re-entry. If she was raped at the Duke house, it may be the second occasion she had been assaulted that night. It is also possible that she might have been so intoxicated upon arriving at the Duke party, that she had previously fallen down and scraped herself up. This is a tough case for the prosecution: a) They have no DNA evidence from an identified suspect b) they have prexisting injuries of the complainant caused by a fall or a pre-existing assault c) They have a possible pre-existing intoxication of the complainant, which was not established one way or the other at the hospital? d) they have to put the complainant on the stand and subject her to cross examination on a), b) ,and c) above If they have no new evidence and if the trial is a jury trial, there is a good possibility that any accused will be found not guilty. There is also a possibility that the case will be thrown out at the preliminary hearing. Positive identification of the perpetrator(s) may be impossible in this case.
The defense can make a good case for the fact that she had been raped prior to arriving at the Duke party, and that her memory was confused because she had been "a priori" traumatized and intoxicated.
If I was prosecuting this case, without any new evidence, I would have to allow the investigation to continue before bringing the case forward to a grand jury.
I realize that and should edit. My first read had the officer looking at her through a closed car window, only.
I never played but I knew college hockey goalies who respectfully declined to get in the crease on a lacrosse field.
Don't be successful and send your white boys to Duke I guess.
Yeah, hockey goalies wear pads. Lacrosse goalies wear a helmet, neck protector, light shoulder pads, a chest protector, and a cup. Nothing on their legs at all when guys shoot 80-100 MPH screamers at them with a hard rubber ball.
You do know that you've made my day!
If she was really raped, there should be no pass. However, in this case they have found that there is NO SIGN of any DNA -- no semen, no skin cells, no hair, no perspiration, no blood, no evidence of skin under her fingernails, NADA! So what are the odds that 3 differnet men raped her and left no evidence? Simple -- it didn't happen.
Think of lacrosse as ice hockey but make the following substitutions
1) Hard rubber ball 2.5" in diameter instead of puck
2) Field for rink
3) Stick with a net on the end rather than a stick with a blade
4) You can carry the ball with the net on the stick
5) When you have the ball the defenseman can whack the hell out of you with his stick
The rest is about the same - body checks, etc. and just a helmet, small shoulderpads and heavy gloves. Goalies get a cup. A good H.S. player can shoot the ball at about 80-90 mph and God help you when that ball hits.
With respect to soccer players who are also great athletes, there is absolutely no comparision in violence.
you guys should have a show on comedy central
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