A federal court in Oklahoma convicted a police officer of sexually assaulting a woman during a traffic stop and obstructing justice by not recording the incident, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Thursday.
Jeffrey Scott Smith, 35, a former Savanna Oklahoma Police Department (SPD) officer, was on his first solo shift when he conducted a traffic stop on the woman and her then-boyfriend, the DOJ said in a statement. Smith issued the woman’s boyfriend a speeding ticket after discovering the boyfriend had an expired license, evidence provided in the trial showed. Smith then asked the pair personal questions, including about their relationship and the woman’s occupation, having manually deactivated his body-worn camera after the first, the court learned.
Smith, upon learning from the woman’s reluctant response that she worked as a dancer “at a gentlemen’s club,” searched the pair’s car and, while investigating the woman’s purse, “found a pre-rolled promotional marijuana cigarette from [the woman’s] work,” the evidence showed, the statement read.
Smith neither issued the woman a ticket nor arrested her — he returned to his squad car and deactivated his dashboard camera, the evidence detailed, according to the DOJ. The officer then took the woman into his patrol vehicle and sexually assaulted her, the court heard.
“It’s impossible to comprehend why the defendant felt entitled to treat an innocent woman this way,” Special Agent in Charge Edward J. Gray of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office said, the statement read. “Instead of ensuring a safe environment for the victim, Smith abused his authority for his own sick gratification. When an officer violates the rights of any citizen, they put the public’s trust in law enforcement at risk. The FBI will not stand for this egregious behavior.” (RELATED: ‘Sheer Power And Authority’: Former Cop Convicted Of Raping Teen While On The Job)
Former Oklahoma Police Officer Convicted of Sexually Assaulting a Woman During a Traffic Stop and Obstruction of Justice
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— DOJ Civil Rights Division (@CivilRights) March 8, 2024
Smith faces a maximum 40-year prison sentence for sexual abuse in what is “the first sexual assault conviction under the 2022 Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act that added enhanced penalties for civil rights offenses involving sexual misconduct,” the DOJ said. He also faces 20 years in prison for deactivating his bodycam and another 20 for deactivating his dashboard camera, according to the statement.
“This case is historic because this is the first defendant to be found guilty and subject to the enhanced penalties in the 2022 Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division stated, according to the DOJ. “We acknowledge the victim’s courage in coming forward and immediately reporting this abuse, and for her strength as she testified in trial.”