You may have seen this on Channel 8 a few days ago, but it is so odd I thought I’d call more attention to it. Russ Martin, the longtime Dallas DJ who was fired in December, is still with his fiancé, who accused him of assault awhile back. Nothing weird about that, as Martin has long maintained there is more to the story than he is legally able to tell right now. But the Channel 8 story mentions that she is now questioning the Southlake PD. Actually, she has filed a “complaint of malfeasance” (which you can read after the jump) that alleges the Southlake police department coerced her into filing charges against Martin and has basically turned the investigation into a high-profile witch hunt. Oh, and, as the story notes, she was recently arrested (the alledged victim was arrested, remember) for not showing up to a hearing that had already been rescheduled. WTF is going on in Southlake? Developing…
City of Southlake
Department of Public Safety
Police Services
2100 W. Southlake Blvd.
Southlake, TX 76092
Re: [his fiancé]
Complaint of Malfeasance against the Southlake P.D.
Allow me to say that during my time as a citizen in Southlake, I did appreciate and respect the work of the police department. Unfortunately I do believe that several injustices have occurred with respect to the police report involving Russell Martin, filed on my behalf, July 15, 2008 and the actions of the Southlake Police Department during the investigation of my report and events following.
On July 15, 2008 I entered the police station with my mother wanting to find out options I had with the given events on July 14, 2008. Officer Ric Salas was dispatched by the department to take my report. I specifically explained to Officer Salas that I was not comfortable speaking to the police about the incident and simply wanted to find out the options I had due to the events of July 14, 2008. After I had explained the incident to Officer Salas, he told me that he would need to go speak with the detectives. I did express to Officer Salas that I did not want to take any further action and at that point he explained the Texas Family Violence law.
Officer Salas went to speak with Detective Anderson and upon returning told me, unsolicited, the department does not treat any citizen with favoritism or special treatment, celebrity or not. He also expressed to me that Detective Anderson and himself would be the only individuals in the department who would be aware of the report. It was apparent that the information spread “unofficially” quickly around the department as I received a text message from an uninvolved Southlake Police Officer on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 regarding the events on July 14, 2008. I was strongly encouraged by this officer to also give an official statement instead of choosing to not participate any further with the case.
After discussing the incident on July 14, 2008 with Detective Richard Anderson, he informed me that a female officer would come in and take photos of possible visible injuries on me. The female officer, who was recovering from a shoulder injury, came in and began taking photos of different areas on my body. The officer thoroughly inspected my entire body for anything that could remotely look like an injury. The officer questioned a birth mark on my leg and neck as possible injuries. There were two other specific occasions when she felt that a visible injury had been detected and a photo of it was needed. She indicated that my wrists were red and it was probably because he (Russell Martin) was squeezing them and that she should take a photo. The officer initiated the accusation against Russell Martin, I did not. The photo of redness behind my ear was also because she noticed it was red and she indicated that it was probably because he (Russell Martin) was grabbing around my neck and behind my ears and that she needed to take a photo. The officer again initiated the accusation against Russell Martin, I did not. At the time I did not think any different of her responsibility of taking photos, however it has become very clear that in that time of being emotional drained and exhausted, allowing her to take photos of anything that remotely looked out of place or wrong and telling me why they were “probably” there, could have, and probably did, add information and evidence to the investigation that was not true and highly inaccurate. I was no less than coerced by the Southlake Police Department in making nothing into something.
After Detective Anderson explained the official statement process, I told Detective Anderson that I did not want to give an official statement and that it made me highly uncomfortable. He then began to explain how providing an official statement would actually be the best option for me so I would not have to be involved with the DA later down the road or have to testify in the trial. He indicated that with an official statement, the DA would then have everything they needed and would not need to contact me for further information. That was not true. I did not want to participate in any legal proceedings or even consider the thought of having to testify in court. Prior to writing my statement I asked Detective Anderson what I needed to say and he specifically told me to vaguely describe what happened so there would not be room for question later down the road, and he specifically told me to indicate that what happened had caused pain and it hurt because it would allow him to have a better chance with charging Mr. Martin with what he thought was appropriate. As a result of Detective Anderson’s representation, I prepared a statement that was more Detective Anderson’s prompting than fact, and not an accurate recitation of the events of July 14, 2008. One of the many results of writing my official statement included the DA and his assistant staking out my place of employment, forcing associates of mine to call me on my cell phone to find out when I would be returning to the office, inevitably serving me with a subpoena, forcing me to testify in front of a grand jury, and ultimately looking at the strong possibility of having to testify during trial. All of such testimony being based on highly inaccurate, misleading, and coercive actions taken by members of the Southlake Police Department.
On several different occasions my mother and I specifically asked Detective Anderson if, and how Mr. Martin would to be arrested. Detective Anderson was asked this question on July 15, 2008 as well as July 17, 2008. Every response from Detective Anderson was that they would call Mr. Martin at his home and make him aware of the situation. They would then give Mr. Martin time to contact his attorney, if he chose to do so, and then come down to the police department to post bail. Detective Anderson said that the police department would keep the incident low key given that Mr. Martin was in the celebrity spotlight and that they did not want to create a big spectacle. The week following Mr. Martin’s public arrest in Southlake Town Square, I asked Detective Anderson why he was arrested in public and not contacted by phone like I was told, and he explained to me that “his boss” decided that the public arrest at Larry North Fitness would be better. That statement leaves me convinced that all of my dealings with the Southlake Police Department were never calculated to keep this very minor incident low key, but rather calculated to treat Russell martin in an unusually harsh manner for reasons best known by the officers who acted in concert with one another, apparently with the approval of the Southlake Police Department. The police in that community were merely looking for someone to charge than being concerned with the truthfulness of the events at hand.
I had huge hesitations in going to the police department due to the events on July 14th. I was encouraged by family members to go and at least speak with the department to see what options were available to me. These were all family members that trusted in the system and had faith in pursuing protection from the Southlake Police Department. After going through the events that unfolded after my initial communication with the department, I had a family member express to me how she would really question seeking help from the police department if she were to ever be in a situation like this. The impact has been more than any alleged victim should ever withstand and a severe concern has to be raised with the methods used by the department in this situation.
I have suspicions as to the motivation of the Southlake Police Department in the handling of this case, as well as tangible proof to many of those suspicions. I will reserve further action on those suspicions pending the action taken on this complaint.
