Hero cop rape charge, A former "top cop," who had the honor of sitting next to first lady Michelle Obama during a televised presidential speech four years ago, is facing rape allegations.
Richard DeCoatsworth left a party with two women on Thursday, according to authorities.
The women called
authorities and said once they arrived at a second, undisclosed
location, the retired officer pulled a gun on them, the Philadelphia
Police Department said in a statement.
He allegedly forced them
"to engage in the use of narcotics and to engage in sexual acts," the
statement said. He was charged with rape on Saturday.
DeCoatsworth became a
hero in 2007, after an assailant shot him in the face with a shotgun,
according to a White House statement preceding President Barack Obama's
2009 speech to Congress.
Then a rookie on the
Philadelphia police force, DeCoatsworth had followed a group of men in a
car, whose activities he found suspicious. They parked and three men
got out of the vehicle.
As he followed them on
foot, a fourth man emerged from the car and fired a blast from a shotgun
at DeCoatsworth's face. He briefly lost his eyesight.
"But when his vision
returned, he was still standing. Bleeding from the face, DeCoatsworth
chased the perpetrator on foot for nearly two blocks. The officer
returned fire and put out flash information on the subject during the
pursuit, before he finally collapsed," the White House statement said.
More officers arrived, and the assailant was captured.
The Philadelphia Police
Department rewarded DeCoatsworth for his valor, promoting him to an
elite highway patrol unit. He received the "Top Cops" award in 2008 from
the National Association of Police Organizations.
In February 2009,
dressed in a ceremonial uniform, he took a seat of honor next to
Michelle Obama for the president's address before a Joint Session of
Congress.
But two years later, the
officer's meteoric career took a dive, when he was accused of using
excessive force, shooting a motorcyclist in the leg, CNN affiliate KYW reported.
He retired in 2011.
Last year, the City of
Philadelphia granted him a disability pension, according to a city
government protocol. But a neighbor also took him to court, claiming
DeCoatsworth had threatened him.
Along with rape, the
former hero faces accusations of "sex assault, terrorist threats and
other related charges," according to police.
KYW reported his bail at $60 million.
Hero cop rape charge news Via edition.cnn
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