A suburban Atlanta police officer has been arrested after he allegedly raped a woman he had arrested.
The City of South Fulton Police Department said that Micheal Cockran, 30, has been charged with sexual assault by a person with supervisory or disciplinary authority and violation of oath of office while on duty.
Police said the incident took place on March 21 after Cockran responded to a domestic dispute call that involved the eventual victim of sexual assault. That woman left the scene, and Cockran later tracked her to a different location.
According to WSB, Cockran turned off his body cam and arrested the 28-year-old woman after learning she had a warrant in neighboring DeKalb County. On the way to jail, he stopped and sexually assault her. The woman reported the assault when she arrived at the DeKalb County jail.
South Fulton Police looked at the in-car camera and GPS system of Cockran’s police vehicle, which corroborated the woman’s statements.
“It was determined that when they took off, he took her to an undisclosed location where the sexual assault took place,” Interim Public Safety Director Cedric Alexander said.
Court documents say that Cockran initially denied the assault and then, after he was confronted with the in-car camera video, claimed it was consensual. Alexander said that people under arrest cannot consent to sex.
“Being in that supervisory role, he’s responsible for her care. He’s in total violation,” the director said.
The department said that Cockran, a natural born US citizen, was relieved of duties when they received the report of the rape, and now authorities have initiated his termination, WSB said. Alexander also said that investigators are looking into his past arrests for anything suspicious.
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[Featured image: Micheal Cockran/Fulton County Sheriff’s Office]
